Tempests of the Heart
by blue-crystal-9
Summary: It is years after the betrayal of Soul Society. Hinamori is finally beginning to move on with her life, and with that comes much change. Can Hitsugaya handle these changes? Eventual Hitsugaya/Hinamori, Kira/Hinamori. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Tempests of the Heart (1/?)

**Author:** blue-crystal-9

**Rating:** PG-13

**Pairing:** Kira/Hinamori, eventual Hitsugaya/Hinamori

**Spoilers:** Anything up to episode 62 at this point.

**Warnings: **Innuendo, swearing.

**Summary:** It is years after the betrayal of Soul Society. Hinamori's finally beginning to move on with her life, and with that comes much change. Can Hitsugaya handle these changes?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Beach; Tite Kubo does. I am not making any profit from this; it is for entertainment purposes only.

**Author's Notes: **At firstI didn't know what I was doing with this fic, all I knew was that I wanted to write it. But I've got some things planned out now so I feel much more secure about it than I originally did. The idea for this fic transpired from the fact that the idea of Kira having a thing for Hinamori really intrigues me. That, and if something began happening between them, Hitsugaya would totally be all, "RAWR!" about it. Maybe mostly internally, but still. ;) And I love my Hitsu angst. I am such an angst whore. :3 I also wanted to trying writing Hinamori with another character, to challenge myself I suppose. And I've never written Kira before, so this is going to be interesting. ;)

As well, I am a bit of KiraHina shipper on the side, (since HitsuHina is my main pairing for Bleach) and I think if Hitsugaya was somehow not in the manga anymore, I'd be totally shipping Kira/Hinamori. ^_~

Oh, also. This isn't edited very well because I have a nasty flu and don't have the energy or the concentration at the moment. I apologize for any mistakes you may see. ;_;

**Tempests of the Heart**

Chapter One

* * *

_Light, so low in the vale  
You flash and lighten afar,  
For this is the golden morning of love,  
And you are his morning star._

_[…]_

_Heart, are you great enough  
For a love that never tires?  
O' heart, are you great enough for love?_

_- _"_Marriage Mornings_" by Lord Alfred Tennyson

**

* * *

**

The door to the tenth division's main office opened with a loud _bang_. A flushed Hinamori stood there, panting slightly.

"Hinamori?" Hitsugaya raised a quizzical eyebrow at her.

"Sorry, I need to borrow Matsumoto for a few minutes." Hinamori gestured to the bosomy lieutenant from across the room.

"And this couldn't wait until after work?"

"Not really, no."

Hitsugaya sighed, "You do realize that if you did that to any other captain they'd-"

"Oh, I wouldn't do it to any other captain. But you're just Hitsugaya-kun, so it's okay." Hinamori said offhandedly.

Hitsugaya glowered, muttering darkly under his breath, "Che. _Just_ Hitsugaya-kun…"

Matsumoto decided to intervene at this point, and jumped up from her desk. "Taicho, I'll just take my fifteen now."

"You took your fifteen already, Matsumoto. An hour ago. And you haven't done nearly enough work to warrant another break." He was not amused.

Hinamori sighed before putting on an expression and tone of mock politeness, "If you please, Hitsugaya-_taicho_, may I request your permission to borrow your vice captain for a few minutes?"

Matsumoto laughed. "The _taicho_ bit was a nice touch."

"Fine. Like you two will listen to me anyway." Grumbled Hitsugaya, scribbling on his paperwork almost viciously.

"Thanks, Hitsugaya-kun!" Hinamori said cheerfully as Matsumoto hurried over to her.

Just as they were leaving, Hitsugaya spoke again. "Why can't you just say whatever you had to say here?"

Hinamori waved her hand dismissively, "It's just girl stuff. It's nothing you'd want to hear; it would probably just annoy you anyway."

"Ah, I should have known." He turned back to his paperwork.

"Come on." Matsumoto said, taking Hinamori by her elbow and shepherding Hinamori toward the door. "Let's go have some tea in my room."

As Matsumoto and Hinamori left the room, Hitsugaya called out to them. "It's Hitsugaya-_taicho_, Hinamori. And Matsumoto, you'd better not be any longer than fifteen minutes."

"Whatever!" They answered together and Hitsugaya growled irritably under his breath.

* * *

"He _what?!"_ Matsumoto's teacup froze halfway to her mouth.

"Kira asked me out." Hinamori said, picking anxiously at a stray thread on her shinigami robes.

"I didn't even realize you liked him like that!"

"I don't really know how I feel about him, actually." Hinamori confessed. "I told him I'd think about it, and that I'd give him my answer at dinner tonight. I didn't know what to say; I was rather surprised."

"Well, it's not _that_ surprising. Kira's had a crush on you for forever." Matsumoto said, finally taking a sip of her tea.

Hinamori blushed. "I know. He was always fairly… _obvious_ about it. But I didn't really pay that much attention to it before."

"Nice, Hinamori."

"No, I don't mean it like that!" Hinamori sputtered. "I've always liked Kira; we've been friends since our academy days. It's just that before… when he first started showing interest, I was so concentrated on being the best vice captain I could be and I didn't really focus on much else." She sighed. "Not to mention I was completely infatuated with Aizen. And then after the betrayal of Soul Society, I was so hurt and confused and just _messed up_ that I didn't even notice much outside of my cloud of despair." A shadow passed over her face, but she pushed the dark memories away. "But then, everything started to get easier to bear. Especially lately… I don't have those dark days much anymore."

Matsumoto nodded in agreement. After all the chaos, as Hinamori began to get over Aizen's betrayal, she had many days where she would become completely depressed. There was not much anyone could do to get her out of it until she was ready. These days were less and less frequent now, but once and a while she'd have a day when the painful memories would assault her, and she would not be in the best frame of mind. As soon as work was over, she would lock herself in her room and not come out for the remainder of the night, even for supper. But the next morning she would be back to normal. No one was entirely surprised when these episodes would happen because even though Hinamori had for the most part healed, they knew she would never be the same naïve, innocent girl she once was.

Hinamori continued speaking, "And now I've just started to notice Kira more, and his …_er_, affection for me."

"So what are you going to tell him?" Matsumoto probed.

"I'm not sure. I mean, it's not like I _hate_ him or anything, we were good friends during our academy days. But… it's _Kira_. It might be a little weird. And I'm not really sure if I feel _that_ way about him." Hinamori sat back against her chair, contemplating.

"You don't have to feel _that _way about him. You're just going on a date, it's not like you're getting married or anything. Just take a chance and see how it goes. Who knows, nothing may occur, but there _is_ a chance that something might. Where's the harm in trying?"

Hinamori smiled cheerfully. "I suppose you're right. Maybe I will accept his offer. Besides, I haven't really dated much before, so it might be fun."

"I'll be good for you too, to get into the dating thing and just loosen up and have a good time." Matsumoto said. "Especially since you've slowly gotten back into socializing."

"Exactly. It'll be a nice change." Hinamori sipped her tea. "Kira's a good guy too, and it'll be easier since I know him. It's not like we're starting off as total strangers." Matsumoto nodded. "Also-"

She was interrupted by Matsumoto's sudden look of panic. "What is it?"

"Hitsugaya-taicho's coming." Matsumoto muttered, sensing her captain's reiatsu moving nearer. "Pick a new topic, quick."

"Why?"

Matsumoto resisted the urge to smash her head against the table. Honestly, _when_ would the girl realize it?

Never, apparently.

"Because," Matsumoto whispered, looking nervously at the door. "He's very protective over you, and he probably won't be overly happy about you going out with anyone, especially Kira."

_God, it is so obvious. Do I have to spell it out for you or something?_ Matsumoto grumbled internally.

"Why? It's just Kira, it's not like he's a hollow or something."

_Apparently, I do have to spell it out for you._

Matsumoto spoke carefully, "Well, he's not very fond of Kira, especially after the incident with him and Gi- I mean, Ichimaru and the two of you."

Hinamori winced. "Oh. I suppose you're right. Maybe I won't say anything… at least not yet."

Matsumoto nodded, "Yeah. Good idea."

The moment she stopped speaking there was a knock on her door. It opened and Hitsugaya poked his head in, one eyebrow twitching dangerously, "Matsumoto, your fifteen minutes was up _ten_ minutes ago."

"Sorry taicho, I lost track of the time." Matsumoto was cheerfully apologetic.

"That tends to happen to you a lot." He muttered dryly. The three of them headed back to the tenth's office. Matsumoto shot Hinamori a look, which Hitsugaya caught the end of. He raised an eyebrow at the sudden innocent expressions on their faces, "Whatever you're gossiping about, I don't want to know."

"Oh, we're not gossiping taicho!" Matsumoto laughed as though the idea was preposterous.

He simply snorted. "Right. Well, I apologize Hinamori but I'm going to have to kick you out as you are distracting my vice captain from her paperwork."

She laughed and Matsumoto glowered at her, "Don't _you_ have paperwork to do?"

"Nope, I finished mine this morning." Hinamori said cheerfully.

"And I'm sure you don't let it accumulate on your desk like she does." Hitsugaya said, jerking his thumb towards Matsumoto's desk where a huge pile of paperwork sat.

Hinamori gaped at it in astonishment. "Holy crap, Matsumoto!"

Matsumoto rolled her eyes, unperturbed.

"That's not the half of it, unfortunately." Hitsugaya grumbled. "Look under the table." He ignored the glare his vice captain sent his way.

Hinamori ducked her head to see under the table that sat in front of the couch they were standing by. Another _two_ piles of paper were hidden there. Hinamori blinked in surprise. "I thought Hitsugaya-kun was exaggerating when he said you did that."

"I never exaggerate Hinamori, especially about Matsumoto." Hitsugaya sighed tiredly.

Hinamori started to giggle, "But it's so…"

"Childish?" Hitsugaya finished for her. "Yeah."

"Not to mention an extremely obvious hiding place." She snickered.

"Weren't you kicked out of here?" Matsumoto said sweetly. "Well, off you go. Shoo."

Hinamori left, laughing all the way down the hall.

Once she had gone, Matsumoto spun around and glared at Hitsugaya again. "Thanks for that, taicho." The sarcasm was evident in her voice.

"My pleasure." Hitsugaya said dryly, not even looking up.

She sighed and flopped into her desk chair before yanking a piece of paperwork from the pile irritably.

"If you rip it you have to do it again."

Matsumoto growled.

* * *

As Hinamori walked back to her division, she thought about what she and Matsumoto had been talking about. She hadn't dated much at all really, except a few times in her academy days. But she had always found it easy talking with Kira. They were already friends so they didn't have to go through the process of getting to know each other, which would be easier. And he had been adorably nervous when he'd asked her.

A shy blush spread across her cheeks. It was nice to be asked out to dinner; to be sought after. It made her feel a little more like a girl knowing someone liked her. And perhaps their relationship would blossom into more. For once, Hinamori would welcome that change. She hadn't been ready before, for someone like that in her life. But now she had grown, had changed, had matured. Now she was ready.

Her decision was made. She would tell him yes.

* * *

Kira strolled into the bathhouse after dinner with almost a spring in his step.

Hisagi had just finished getting a bath and was tying up his obi. He looked up when he heard Kira come in and blinked in surprise when he saw the look on Kira's face. "What's with you?"

Renji came in from the bath as Hisagi spoke and began pulling on his clothes. "Yeah, I noticed after supper that you were in a strangely good mood."

Kira grinned. "I asked Hinamori out."

"And she said yes?" Renji raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Yep." His grin widened.

"Well, congratulations." Hisagi smirked. "You finally manned up and asked her out."

"Someone should do the same for Matsumoto." Renji muttered and yelped when Hisagi elbowed him painfully in the ribs.

"Shut up. It's complicated." Hisagi mumbled.

Renji laughed to himself. "Sure it is."

Kira tuned them out, thinking to himself about Friday, which was the day they had planned to go out. He was more than just happy about it; he was ecstatic. He'd had feelings for Hinamori since their academy days but hadn't been able to get up the nerve to ask her out until now. He was glad he had waited too; she seemed more confident and happier lately. He was not sure if she would have even said yes before. At first he'd had his doubts when she'd told him that she would think about it, but she'd came to him at dinner and had told him she would love to go out with him. She'd said it with such a sweet smile on his face that it had reassured him.

He tuned back into the conversation when he realized Hisagi was speaking to him. "So Kira, what do you think? Victory drinks?"

Kira thought for a moment. It _was _a work night, and he didn't exactly have the greatest tolerance level; one too many drinking parties with Matsumoto had shown him that. Having a hangover and having to wake up early would suck. Only Matsumoto had mastered this skill to perfection. But celebrating would be nice…

Oh, what the hell.

"Sure." Kira agreed.

"Hell yes!" Cheered Renji and the three men headed, laughing and joking to the nearest bar.

* * *

"So, I was thinking," Hitsugaya began as he sat down at the table across from Hinamori at breakfast the next day, "That since this week has been less hectic we could go and get something to eat at that new place that just opened up. According to Matsumoto the food's pretty good. And we haven't had a meal out together for a while."

Hinamori nodded, "Yeah, that would be nice. When?"

"What about Friday night?"

Hinamori's chopsticks stopped halfway to her mouth. She was already busy on Friday. And she hadn't told Hitsugaya yet. She cringed. Well, she might as well get it over with. Laying her chopsticks down on her plate, she said carefully, "Actually, I've already got plans on Friday."

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah. I'm kind of going on a date."

Hitsugaya froze for a second, swallowing heavily to force the food that had somehow become stuck in his throat. "A date? With who?" He tried not to make his voice sound too demanding, but didn't entirely succeed.

"With Kira."

_Kira?_ Hitsugaya blinked. "I thought you and Kira were just friends."

"We are… and it's only one date." Hinamori shrugged. "We'll see how it goes from there."

"Right." Hitsugaya watched as Hinamori took the last bite of her food, before standing up and picking up her plate.

"I've got to go; I need to get into work early to do a few things. I'll see you later, Hitsugaya-kun."

"Yes." He replied vaguely, thoughts elsewhere.

_It's only one date_, Hitsugaya silently reassured himself. _It probably won't even go anywhere._

_Right?_

* * *

**End of chapter one.**

Teehee.

Dear God, I'm evil. Hitsugaya's being tortured in the manga enough as it is, and now I'm torturing him in fanfiction too? XD

There will be more Hitsu angst to come…. *ominous music plays*

Until next chapter, guys. Hope you like it so far. :) This was kind of a slow chapter, but things will start to heat up in the next few.

And OMG, I'm kind of proud of myself for writing something that's longer than a one-shot. Yay for chaptered fics! *sparkles*

*cough* …Anyway. ;D


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Tempests of the Heart (2/?)  
**Author:** blue_crystal_9  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Pairing:** Eventual Hitsugaya/Hinamori, Kira/Hinamori  
**Spoilers:** Anything up to episode 62 at this point.  
**Warnings:** Innuendo, swearing.  
**Summary:** It is years after the betrayal of Soul Society. Hinamori's finally beginning to move on with her life, and with that comes much change. Can Hitsugaya handle these changes?  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Beach; Tite Kubo does. I am not making any profit from this; it is for entertainment purposes only.  
**Author's Notes: **For once I have nothing to say. Huh. How unusual for me. :P

**Tempests of the Heart**  
Chapter Two

* * *

_I can't fight this feeling any longer  
And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow  
What started out as friendship has grown stronger  
I only wish I had the strength to let it show_

"_Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore_" by REO Speedwagon

* * *

Friday morning finally rolled around.

Hinamori woke up feeling both excited and nervous, which wasn't entirely unusual to feel before a first date. The memory of Aizen still stuck with her however, which was part of the reason why she was feeling apprehensive. She had learned to approach things more cautiously because of him and no longer trusted people as easily as she once did. For what did trusting Aizen get her? A sword through her chest and years of emotional pain and heartache, that's what. Not that Kira was going to turn on her like Aizen had, but she was still a little wary of people now, even her friends.

But she decided not to think of Aizen today and instead focused on the good. She was going to be like any other young girl for once, and go on dates and just have fun and for a few hours not have worry about responsibilities.

The day dragged on and finally work was over. She had an hour and a half to get back to her room and get cleaned up and dressed. It was now just after five thirty and Kira said he would meet her at seven. She hurried home after her captain gave her leave to go and took a nice bubble bath to make herself relax and to wash the dust of the day off.

Part of her wondered why she was making such an effort to make herself look nice; Kira has seen her bruised and bloody from battle, and at her lowest moments after Aizen. But the other half argued that it was the principle of the thing, and you always dressed up when going on a date. It was one of the most enjoyable parts. She ignored the cynical side of her mind and continued getting ready.

That was until she realized that she had no idea what she was going to wear. She didn't want to appear too casual, or too dressy. She looked at the robes thrown on her futon in irritation, a pout of annoyance gracing her pretty face. She didn't really have any expertise in this area; the few dates she had gone on during her recruit days had been "Let's get tea after practise at the tea shop around the corner while still in our training uniforms" sort of thing. With a sigh, she scooped up her pile of robes and headed to the tenth division to ask Matsumoto's opinion.

A few minutes later she knocked on Matsumoto's room door, hoping that she'd caught Matsumoto before she'd gone off to party as she always did on Friday nights. To her relief the door swung open.

"What's up?" Matsumoto asked, looking at the pile of robes in Hinamori's arms with a bemused expression. "Need some help?"

"Yes please." Hinamori moaned pityingly and dragged herself into Matsumoto's room.

Forty-five minutes later and after much changing, they decided on a dark blue robe with tiny silver stars dotting along the bottom.

"Yes, I think that'll do." Matsumoto nodded as she appraised Hinamori.

"Great! Thanks for your help!" Hinamori said, beginning to collect her things but Matsumoto's voice stopped her.

"Wait, what about your hair and makeup?"

"I'm just going to leave my hair down. I wasn't going to put on makeup as I'm not really good at using it."

"I can do it for you." Matsumoto flashed her a smile. "I'm excellent at applying makeup, as you know."

"Well..." Hinamori hesitated before finally agreeing, "Alright." At least she'd look a bit dressier with makeup on.

The strawberry blond vice captain beamed. "Yay!" Hinamori laughed, allowing Matsumoto to propel her into the bathroom.

Matsumoto decided that a light dusting of makeup was appropriate. Not so much that it was obvious, but enough that it created emphasis on her eyes.

"There!" Matsumoto crowed triumphantly once she was finished.

"Wow, it looks great." Hinamori examined herself in the mirror. "A much better job than I would have done."

"Am I awesome or what?" She grinned smugly.

"You're very awesome, Matsumoto." Hinamori laughed, grabbing her things. "I have to go now, it's almost seven. Thanks for the help."

"So are you nervous?"

"A little." She answered as Matsumoto walked her to the entrance doors of the tenth division.

"Don't worry about it, you'll be just fine. And you look _hot_."

"Thanks." Hinamori laughed again. Just as they reached the entrance the doors opened and Hitsugaya stepped in.

Matsumoto winced. She'd been hoping they would finish before he'd gotten back from supper, and they'd almost made it. _Almost_.

He took one look at Hinamori and made no outward sign except that his eyes widened slightly. "Hinamori. You look…nice." _Better than nice_. His voice was perfectly calm.

"Thanks, Hitsugaya-kun." Hinamori smiled at him before looking at the clock on the wall, "Crap, I'm going to be late. I have to run. Bye Hitsugaya-kun, Matsumoto." And with a flash of dark blue she was gone.

"Bye, Hinamori." Matsumoto called as her captain began to walk back to his office. As soon as the door closed behind Hinamori, she called after him, "Captain…" She didn't know what exactly she was going to say to him, but she had to say _something_.

"I have paperwork to do, Matsumoto." He didn't even break his stride. Again he showed no outward sign of discontent except for the fact that his back was stiff. He closed the door to the office shut behind him.

Matsumoto looked at the closed door and sighed.

* * *

Kira met Hinamori outside the fifth division barracks at seven o'clock and they went to a trendy little restaurant Hinamori had been to once before. Hinamori was pleased to find that she was really enjoying herself. They ate and just talked about nothing and everything. She hadn't realized before, but she hadn't really _known_ Kira. Yes, they had been friends during their training, but she hadn't gotten to know him as well as she thought she had. In fact, she had been closer to Renji than Kira in those days. Now she was starting to learn how great of a person he was when he wasn't in his 'serious Kira' mode. When he was happy, he just seemed to become almost …_vibrant_, somehow.

As Kira walked Hinamori back to the fifth division, he turned to her and spoke, "So, do you want to do this again sometime soon?"

Hinamori smiled. "Sure, I'd love to." They stopped in front of the fifth's entrance.

"How's Sunday for you, at the same time?"

"Sunday's good."

"Okay, great." They stood a few inches apart now. The moonlight shone down on Hinamori, illuminating her pretty face. "You know, you really look lovely tonight, Hinamori."

She blushed. "Thank you. You look quite nice as well."

He smiled at her and stepped a little closer, looking a slightly nervous. He took a deep breath before saying haltingly, "Hinamori… Er, can I…?"

Hinamori, instantly realizing what he was asking, blushed even more. "Um… sure."

Kira closed the space between them, tentatively cupping her face in his hands before pressing his lips softly against hers. He pulled away, but was suddenly pulled forward again by Hinamori who kissed him again. This kiss was not so hesitant, and as it deepened Kira wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. After a minute they broke apart, both looking a little dazed. Hinamori was blushing furiously but she had a shy little smile on her face. "Goodnight, Kira." She opened the entrance door and stepped in.

"Goodnight, Hinamori. I'll see you tomorrow."

Hinamori gave him a little wave of farewell and closed the door behind her.

Kira walked back to the third division with a goofy smile plastered on his face.

* * *

On Monday morning as Hitsugaya was eating breakfast, a few of the lower seated shinigami girls sat at the table behind him, gossiping. One name in particular caught his attention.

"So, what's this news about Hinamori-fuku taicho going out with Kira-fuku taicho?" One girl asked.

"Apparently they just started dating. They went out twice." A second girl answered.

Hitsugaya froze for a second. _Twice?_ He hadn't been talking to Hinamori since Friday as the tenth division had suddenly become boggled down with paperwork once again. One of the tenth's lower seated members had gotten in a fight with someone from the eighth and they'd caused a lot of damage. Naturally, this meant doing damage reports and other such paperwork, even more than he thought there would be. Because of this he hadn't heard how her date with Kira had gone. In that short space of time, apparently Kira and Hinamori had decided to continue dating.

"Aw, that's so cute. They'd be great together." A third girl gushed.

Not realizing Hitsugaya was in their vicinity, the third shinigami girl whispered loudly enough for Hitsugaya to hear, "But how do you think Hitsugaya-taicho is taking it? He seems pretty protective of her. Ooh, maybe they'll get in a fight!"

"Sweet! That would finally bring us some excitement around here!" The first girl laughed.

Hitsugaya stood up abruptly, chair scraping against the floor. This caught the attention of the three girls and when Hitsugaya turned his head to glare at them, instant 'oh shit' expressions comically formed on their faces.

Wide eyed, one girl managed to say with false brightness, "Well, isn't the weather nice today?"

It was an extremely weak attempt to cover up the fact that they were talking about him, but the other two girls nearly fell all over themselves to agree with her.

Hitsugaya simply glowered at them for another moment before stalking off.

"You don't think he's going to freeze us in our sleep, do you?" The first girl said fearfully to the others as they watched him walk off.

* * *

As Hitsugaya headed out of the dining hall he spotted Hinamori coming in. He walked over to her, an inexplicable expression on his face.

"Hey, Hitsugaya-kun." She said brightly as soon as she saw him. "What- ahhh!" Hitsugaya had grabbed her by the elbow and half dragged her to a more private corner of the hallway. As soon as Hinamori managed to recover her footing, she glared at him. "What's with you?"

"Why didn't you tell me you and Kira had formed a relationship?" The tone of his voice came out more annoyed then he intended.

Hinamori put one hand on her hip, "Because I haven't seen you all weekend. How did you find out, anyway?"

"I heard it on the grapevine. People talk."

"Okay, but I don't understand. What's the big deal? We only went out on two dates, that's not exactly a 'relationship'".

"But you are forming one, correct? You are planning to continue dating him?"

"Well, yeah, I suppose so."

"And how hard is it to come and tell me that?"

"I'm _sorry_, you were busy and I didn't want to bother you. Besides, I didn't think you would care." Hinamori said defensively.

"Of course I _care_." His voice was harsh, too harsh and he attempted to rein in his anger.

"Why are you so mad?" Hinamori demanded.

"I-" He began, but then stopped. It wasn't her fault that he was in love with her, that he couldn't bear to see her with anyone else. She didn't even know how he felt about her and he was the one getting angry at _her_. He should be mad at himself.

It was not her fault, it was all his. He was to blame.

His face instantly changed to an unreadable expression, the wall of ice forming once again. "Never mind." He muttered, spinning around and stalking off.

He heard her call out to him but did not look back.

* * *

"I don't understand why he was so mad!" Hinamori said exasperatedly a few hours later, running a hand through her bangs. "He didn't eve give me a reason. He just stomped off."

Matsumoto sighed tiredly. If she had a sake bottle for every time Hinamori was completely oblivious to Hitsugaya's feelings, she'd be dead of alcohol poisoning long ago. "Well, Hitsugaya-taicho is not always easily understood."

"You can say that again!" Hinamori huffed.

_This time he is, idiot girl!_ _Actually look with both your eyes open for once!_

But she didn't actually say this. As much as Matsumoto wanted her captain's feelings for Hinamori to be realized, Hinamori had to figure it out on her own. Preferably within the next century. At least then her captain would stop his God awful brooding. A happy Hitsugaya meant less paperwork, and Matsumoto would gladly reap the benefits of that. But it didn't seem like there would be a breakthrough any time soon, unfortunately.

"He's been especially confusing lately and so mysterious. I used to know him so well, and now I feel like I don't know him at all." Her voice was sad.

"Don't worry, Hinamori. Talk to him when he's in a better mood; I'm sure it was nothing serious. You know how he gets sometimes."

"Yeah." Hinamori sighed and took a sip of her tea.

_And maybe_, Matsumoto thought, _Kira deserves her more. If Hitsugaya-taicho isn't man enough to admit his feelings, than perhaps it's better she's with Kira. At least he made it clear he wanted her._

* * *

There was a knock on the door of Hitsugaya's office.

"Come in." Hitsugaya said gruffly, a trace of roughness still in his voice from the argument with Hinamori hours ago.

Kira walked in, handing him a pile of papers. "I have the paperwork you requested from the third division, Hitsugaya-taicho."

"Oh. Thank you." He placed the pile of papers on his desk and as Kira began to leave he stopped him. "Kira, wait a minute. There is something I need to discuss with you."

He saw Kira wince, most likely expecting something like this from the white haired captain. He turned around, looking slightly wary. "Yes, sir?"

Hitsugaya didn't bother with small talk, preferring to get to the point right away. "You know I don't really like you, Kira."

Kira winced again. "I've been slightly aware of the fact, yes sir."

"Good. So I make this very clear." He stared intently into Kira's eyes, the green of his eyes absolute ice, "If you hurt her, I will personally see that you will regret it. And it will be painful."

Kira swallowed, knowing that Hitsugaya was speaking truthfully. He had seen the way the ice captain had reacted to Ichimaru that night many years ago. "I have no intention of hurting her, sir."

"Well, that may be true but you know I have my reasons for suspecting otherwise."

Kira sighed, looking a little defeated. "I did not mean for her to get hurt that day, sir. I was only following my captain's orders. I didn't know what they were going to do, that they were going to-" He stopped abruptly, a look of bitterness coming into his eyes. "You have no idea how guilty I feel about her getting hurt."

"Regardless, if you hurt her I will make sure you never forget it. It that clear?" His gaze was unwavering, cold.

"Perfectly clear, sir." Kira sighed. "May I go now?"

"Yes, you may."

Kira left, closing the door behind him silently. Hitsugaya turned back to his paperwork, but not without a tiny, almost unnotable gleam of satisfaction in his eyes.

* * *

**End of chapter two.**

Because you know Hitsugaya would totally kick Kira's ass if he hurt her. XD

Why is it that whenever anyone in my Bleach fics has a conversation, it's either in the dining hall or over paperwork? I need to be more creative and give them a new setting. ;_;

Not too happy with this chapter, I think I need to work on Kira's character a little more. ;_: I may go back and redo this chapter later on, but for now I'm going to leave it as it is. The next chapter will be better, hopefully.

Oh, and also. An explanation of the title, _Tempests of the Heart, _in case anyone was wondering. A "Tempest" is a '_a violent commotion, disturbance, or tumult_' according to . It'll make more sense in later chapters. It's kind of corny I know, but I couldn't come up with anything better and it does actually fit later on. ;)

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time. I hope you enjoyed this one, and I'll see you all again next chapter. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Tempests of the Heart (3/?)**  
Author:** blue-crystal-9**  
Rating:** PG-13/T**  
Pairing:** Eventual Hitsugaya/Hinamori, Kira/Hinamori  
**Spoilers:** Anything up to episode 62 at this point.  
**Warnings:** Innuendo, swearing.  
**Summary:** It is years after the betrayal of Soul Society. Hinamori's finally beginning to move on with her life, and with that comes much change. Can Hitsugaya handle these changes?  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Beach; Tite Kubo does. I am not making any profit from this; it is for entertainment purposes only.  
**Author's Notes:** Wahhh, I am so sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I was extremely busy with school and extracurriculars, and everything only finally started to calm down in the last few days, so I finally had time to finish writing this. And here it is. :)

**Tempests of the Heart**  
Chapter Three

* * *

Hinamori sat on the roof of the fifth division barracks, watching the sun rise. It was rather an unorthodox place to sit, but you got the best view of Soul Society from the roof.

Suddenly, she saw a movement in the corner of her eye. In her surprise she shrieked and toppled over. Unfortunately, she was sitting near the edge of the roof so the ground was quickly titling toward her.

Someone gripped her wrist tightly and pulled her upright. She looked over to see the bemused face of Hitsugaya.

"Gah, you scared me!" She put a hand to her chest, her heart still thumping madly in her ears.

"Duly noted. Falling off the roof wasn't exactly subtle." Amusement clearly shone in his eyes. "Besides, it's not like you would have fallen _that_ far… twenty feet, maybe?"

"Hardy har har." Hinamori said sarcastically, edging further away from the edge of the roof. "I can practically feel the broken bones that would have caused. And anyway, you snuck up on me _again_."

He snorted. "It was your own fault; you should have sensed my reiatsu."

"_Hey!_" Hinamori growled. "You were the one who used their crazy sneaky captain powers to scare _me_. And besides, I can't be expected to be concentrating that heavily this early in the morning. I haven't even had any tea yet." She ignored his exasperated expression, "So, what are you doing here anyway?"

"I came to apologize actually, for being so snippy yesterday. I was in a bad mood and I took it out on you and it was uncalled for."

She examined his face thoughtfully. His gaze was perfectly clear, no trace of the anger that had been there yesterday. She gave him a little smile, "Don't worry about it, Hitsugaya-kun. You just saved me from breaking several ribs, that's payment enough." He smirked at her and she grinned back, "So are we good now?"

"Definitely."

Hinamori bumped her shoulder against his playfully, "Good. So how did you find me up here?"

"Well, first of all I, unlike you, take the time to sense people's reiatsu-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Hinamori mumbled.

"I was on my way to the dining hall and I saw you up on the roof."

Hinamori snorted, "Of course. Why were you getting breakfast so early?"

"I'm going in to get a head start on the paperwork-"

"_What_? It's like, an hour and half before we have to be at work. The only reason I'm not asleep right now was because I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep."

"Well, the pile was ridiculously large last night and I don't fancy having to do a ton of paperwork _again_ this weekend. And Matsumoto is virtually no help." He scoffed. "It's looks like I'm going to have to start threatening her again."

Hinamori snickered, "Back to the usual, then?"

"Yes, unfortunately."

The sat in companionable silence for a few moments until Hinamori spoke. "Hey, Hitsugaya-kun, can I ask you something?"

She looked slightly anxious, which made Hitsugaya curious. "Of course you can."

"Um…" She started playing with a stray piece of her bangs, a nervous habit of hers. "What do you think of me being in a relationship with Kira, truthfully? I know you still don't exactly like Kira because of what happened years ago, but if you disregard that… what do you think?"

Hitsugaya blinked, a little more than surprised at her question. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Well, you're my friend and I want to know your opinion."

"It shouldn't matter to you what others think, Hinamori." Hitsugaya said quietly. "You should do what _you_ want to do."

"I know, and I try to be like that. But I'm not as successful as you are." She gave him a small smile. "So, what do you think?"

Hitsugaya paused for a long moment before answering. "Well, Kira's a good person, from what I've seen. Disregarding his… _previous_ actions, of course. He's kind, smart, clever." He stared off into the horizon for a second before adding, "You two compliment each other well." He sighed for a moment before standing up, "I should go, I have things to do. I'll see you later."

"Sure. Bye, Hitsugaya-kun." He nodded to her before shunpo-ing away.

She stared at the place where he had been sitting, thoughts elsewhere.

_Was it just me or did he just subtly run away from the conversation?_

* * *

"You're not going out with us on Friday _again?!_" Renji sputtered.

Kira shrugged, "I have another date with Hinamori."

"That's all you do lately!" Renji grumbled. "She's going to get sick of you."

"No, she won't." Kira frowned. "At least I _hope_ not…"

"Don't worry about it, she's totally into you." Hisagi patted Kira's shoulder, and he looked a little relieved.

"You're totally abandoning us. Bros before hoes, man." Renji sighed.

"You've spent way to much time in the real world, Renji." Hisagi rolled his eyes.

"Well, I can't hold my liquor as well as you two can anyway, so at least I won't be a burden anymore." Kira shrugged.

"That's why we like having you around. We enjoy watching you make a complete fool of yourself; it's utter hilarity." Renji smirked.

Kira scowled, his voice sarcastic. "_Thanks._"

"No problem man."

"I have to say, having you there does make the night more interesting." Hisagi started to grin. "Like that time with the mop after you'd had a ton of shooters. We had to literally _hide_ the thing to stop you from trying to make out with it-"

"Aw, shut up. Don't remind me!" Kira made a face as Renji laughed. "You joked about that for _ages_."

"Of course we did. It was one of the funniest things that's happened in years."

"So, does Hinamori know about your mop smooching ways?" Renji chortled. "Someone should warn her before she gets in too deep."

"If you ever mention that to her, I swear I will hunt you down and-" Kira snarled, but was saved from finishing by the arrival of Iba.

"Hey." He said, sitting down by Renji. "What's up?"

"Kira's abandoning us yet again." Renji complained.

"Going out with Hinamori again, huh?" Iba glanced at Kira over his sunglasses and Kira nodded. "Man, what's it been? Four, five dates?"

"Five."

Iba whistled. "And you haven't slept with her yet?"

Kira turned bright red. "No!"

"What are you, chicken or something?"

"That's what I was thinking." Renji muttered.

"I'm not making her rush into anything. We're just going to take it slow." Kira managed to sputter out.

"Unlike you two, Kira's a gentleman." Hisagi grinned.

Iba snorted. "So are you courting her, or something?"

"Well, in a matter of speaking…" Kira trailed off,

Renji laughed. "Wow. _Someone's _behind on the times."

"Sheesh. At least I've gotten past first base with a girl. You're going to have to do it sometime, Kira." Iba smirked.

"Shut up." Kira glowered, his face turning red as the other guys snickered.

They hadn't noticed a certain white haired captain who had been walking several feet away from where they had been sitting. He was far enough behind the group to not have been noticed, but close enough to hear their conversation.

He wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or apprehensive.

* * *

Hitsugaya sat at his desk a while later, still contemplating their conversation.

Why was it that everyone decided to have conversations about things concerning Hinamori that he'd rather not hear about when he was in the vicinity? You'd swear they were doing it on purpose just to irritate him.

And he had not been eavesdropping. He _had not_. He had simply been passing by them and could he help it if his feet slowed a little when he discovered what they were talking about? No, he couldn't.

Hitsugaya pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. Oh for the love of God, he was going _insane_. He was getting all freaked out over nothing just because they'd been talking about Hinamori and Kira and their possible sex life.

And besides, Kira himself had said they hadn't slept together yet. At least he had that small comfort. At least he wouldn't have to conceive a plan to kill Kira without Hinamori finding out. Or Yamamoto, for that matter.

_But Kira hadn't said they _weren't_ going to sleep together either. They've been together for a few weeks now, and you can't deny that it could happen in the near future. _A tiny part of his brain argued.

Hitsugaya growled under his breath, attempting to ignore those thoughts. Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy.

His hand clenched into a fist, knuckles turning white with anger. He couldn't _stand_ the thought of anyone daring to touch her, even if they had her consent. She was too… just _no_. And Kira… damn bastard. Eventually, they'd… arghh!

Bad thoughts. Bad, _bad_ thoughts. Hitsugaya resisted the urge to bash his head off the desk, burying his face in his hands. Great, now he was so insane that he couldn't even think in proper sentences. He needed to stop worrying about Kira and Hinamori's possible sex life. It wasn't even any of his concern.

He needed a hobby, and badly.

"Taicho, is something wrong?"

He jumped in surprise, barely managing to hold back a shout. He hadn't even realized Matsumoto was asleep on the couch; he'd wondered where she had disappeared to. Her head was sticking up over the top of the sofa, chin resting on the surface. Her hair was tousled from sleep and she was blinking at him owlishly. He looked at her crossly, "I'm fine. And why are you asleep during work hours? Do your work, or I'm docking your pay."

Matsumoto heaved a sigh before standing up and stretching, "Someone's cranky."

He simply grunted at her and she went to sit at her desk, pulling her work towards her and picking up a quill. She didn't concentrate on it for long however, and decided to watch her captain out of the corner of her eye instead.

He was in a bad mood. Not a 'I'm going to turn you into a popsicle' kind of bad mood, but a kind of bad mood where he was trying to hide the fact that he was cranky about something that he didn't want to talk about. Which meant he was pissed about something concerning Hinamori. And the 'going out with Kira' thing.

But the subtle twitching of his right eyebrow was a definite tipoff that he was annoyed about something.

Matsumoto bit her lip. God, how she wanted to say something to him. But he would either brush her off or tell her to mind her own business. Her captain needed a guy friend, because if he kept bottling up all of his thoughts he was going to snap and go bankai on all of their asses. And it would be not be good.

"Matsumoto, paperwork."

She whirled around to look at him. "Hey, I'm doing it."

"Your pen hasn't moved for at least five minutes."

Damn it. She picked up her quill again, simultaneously watching him with her peripheral vision. His scowl was more pronounced than usual, and every few seconds he would shake his head and mutter to himself. And there was some major twitching going on as well.

Yeah, that definitely wasn't normal.

Matsumoto tried to concentrate on her work, she really did. But eventually the muttering and the twitching got on her nerves. He'd even started tapping the desk irritably. How was a vice captain supposed to concentrate in such conditions?

She threw her quill down. "Taicho. Is there _anything_ I can help you with?" Matsumoto asked, all fake syrupy sweetness.

"If you actually did your work it would be a great help, yes." Hitsugaya replied mildly.

Arghh. "That's not what I meant." She snapped.

"Then what _did_ you mean?"

"I _meant_, can I help you with whatever it is that's making you twitch like you're on Prozac?"

His voice was abruptly indifferent. "I'm fine."

"Ughh, you are so not!" Matsumoto was getting frustrated.

"I assure you Matsumoto, there is nothing the matter with me."

She sent him a glare that would have scared small children and puppies. "Sir, I apologize for being so rude, but will you just _do_ it already?"

"Do what?" He looked confused.

"Do what, he asks." Matsumoto muttered to herself before rolling her eyes. "Duh. Tell Hinamori how you feel."

Hitsugaya abruptly turned three shades of red, sputtering incomprehensibly. "I-I…That! You… B-but!" He suddenly seemed to deflate, his voice soft and laced with sadness. "I can't do that."

"_Why_? You've been in far more frightening situations than telling a girl how you feel." Matsumoto said, her voice almost scolding.

"Because she's happy with Kira."

The tone of his voice made her freeze. She looked over at him, but his face was hidden in the shadows. She got up and walked over to his desk, saying tentatively, "Taicho?"

"She's with Kira now, she's happy. I'm not going to ruin that. She obviously doesn't feel the same way, so there's no point for me to tell her."

"But she should know, Taicho. I mean, what if-"

"No." He interrupted, his piercing green eyes suddenly locked on hers. "It would make her feel awkward. _She does not need to know._" His words were final.

"But… you would rather her be in that dark about your feeling then for you to be happy?"

"No, I would rather for her to be happy, even if she's not with me. _Her_ happiness is what matters, not mine."

Matsumoto was silent for a moment, before gently placing a hand on her captain's shoulder. He let her stay like that for a moment before saying, "You know how you could help me, Matsumoto? You could do your work and not bother me about personal matters." His voice slightly rough, interlaced with ice.

Matsumoto took her hand back with a heavy heart, sighing softly. "Yes, sir."

She went back to her desk, and the tenth division office descended into a silence.

* * *

**End of chapter three.**

Holy crap, I'm tired. *falls over* And it's only _7:30 pm_ here. Sheesh. On the plus side, I'm eating cake. :D


	4. Chapter 4

Yay! Finally an update. Sorry guys. :\ I'll be more diligent, I swear! ;_;

**Title:** Tempests of the Heart (4/?)**  
Author:** blue-crystal-9**  
Rating:** PG-13/T**  
Pairing:** Eventual Hitsugaya/Hinamori, Kira/Hinamori  
**Spoilers:** Anything up to episode 62 at this point.  
**Warnings:** Innuendo, swearing.  
**Summary:** It is years after the betrayal of Soul Society. Hinamori's finally beginning to move on with her life, and with that comes much change. Can Hitsugaya handle these changes?  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Beach; Tite Kubo does. I am not making any profit from this; it is for entertainment purposes only.  
**Author's Notes:** Again, sorry for the lateness of this chapter. I had finals (5 of which were publics) and then graduation. And then… writer's block. I literally hit a brick wall whenever I tried to work on this. But then the other night, I was able to plan out the rest of it, so now I actually know where I'm going with the rest of this fic, which helped get rid of the writer's block. I think this fic will be at least 10 chapters in total, at maximum 12.

**Tempests of the Heart**  
Chapter Four

* * *

"I think we should have a party."

Hinamori didn't even look away from her dinner. "You always think that."

"No, _seriously_." Matsumoto said earnestly.

Hinamori finally looked up, raising an eyebrow incredulously at her.

In fact, her expression was so similar to a certain white haired captain's that Matsumoto wondered if he had been giving her tips.

Dear God, how scary would _that_ be?

"And what would this party entail, Rangiku-san? Because I'm all for a party, as long as it's in the realm of sanity-"

"Oh, it will be." She assured Hinamori, "Just a nice, relaxed little get together for the vice captains."

"And would said vice captains be drinking insane amounts of alcohol? Because if it's anything like last time…"

"Okay, it wasn't _that_ bad last time." Matsumoto interjected.

Hinamori gave Matsumoto a look, saying dryly, "Where you and I at the same party? Because if memory serves me correctly, I ended up comforting a very drunk Hisagi all night because he was sobbing over some insult or another that you said to him-"

"I apologized to him later for that!"

"…And you and Renji and the rest were all passed out in the corner. And somehow, I don't quite understand _how_ exactly, you managed to convince me to drink something I had never tried before and never will again. I ended up being completely plastered. You know I can't handle alcohol, Rangiku-san."

"I know." She said soothingly. "Look, it'll be a relatively calm party, with only a small amount of alcohol and you will not be anywhere near whatever it was you drank at the last party." She gave her puppy dog eyes, "_Pleaseee?_ It's been so long since we had a vice captain get together and it'll be fun."

"Okay." Hinamori caved finally, grinning. "You win. I'll help."

"Yay!" Matsumoto cheered in victory.

"So, where are you going to have it? And when?"

"In the tenth division sitting room on Friday. That way I don't have to pay rental fees and if I need to pass out my bedroom's just down the hall." Matsumoto grinned.

Hinamori giggled. "Sounds like a plan. So, Hitsugaya-kun was fine with you having it in the tenth division?"

"Yes."

"Really?" Hinamori asked. "That's surprising. I figured that he would be a rather reluctant to let you do something like that in his division."

"Nah, he was completely cool with it." Matsumoto said airily.

* * *

"Taicho?"

Sigh. "Yes, Matsumoto?"

"I have a… er, _proposition_ for you."

"I don't like the sound of that."

"Well, I wanted to have a little vice captain get together and I was hoping to have it in the sitting room-"

"Absolutely not. You've had enough group drinking sprees here that have resulted in things being broken."

"It's not going to be a drinking spree, and I already told everyone we were doing it here anyway. Tomorrow night." There was an almost smug undertone at the end of her sentence.

"Gah." Hitsugaya closed his eyes, feeling irritation growing in his stomach. She had him cornered. "Clever of you. And utterly _sneaky._ You know I can't say no, because that would risk offending the others if you suddenly had to cancel or change the plans in a way that would disadvantage them. And that would just be… _annoying_ to deal with."

"Exactly," Matsumoto grinned slyly.

"Whatever. Just don't break anything or let anyone throw up inside or be too loud Otherwise I don't care. But if something is broken, or anything of the nature, you will be the one paying for it out of your salary."

"Duly noted."

"Good."

"Thanks, taicho." Her voice was sincere.

"You're welcome." He gave her an almost smile then turned back to his work.

"So, you wouldn't be willing to help me clean up the sitting room, would you?"

Hitsugaya snorted.

She sighed. "I'll take that as a no."

"Precisely."

* * *

Hinamori surveyed the items on the low table in the tenth division sitting room. "Okay, so we have snacks, plates, sake cups… anything else we're missing?"

Matsumoto surveyed the room. "Nope, I think we're good… oh!" She hurried out of the room for a minute, returning with an armful of sake bottles. She grinned, "_Now_ we're good."

Hinamori snorted, "Of course. Can't forget the sake."

"Hey, just because you can't handle your sake doesn't mean the rest of us have to suffer." Matsumoto said teasingly, the sake bottles making a clinking sound as she placed them on the table next to the other refreshments.

"Blah, blah, blah," Hinamori rolled her eyes and Matsumoto snickered. "So, this starts at eight, right?"

"Yep. People should be arriving soon."

There was a knock on the door, and Hitsugaya poked his head. "Matsumoto, remember what I told you. No messes, or loudness, or you will pay." He looked at her sternly.

"Yeah, yeah, taicho," Matsumoto sighed, picking up a sake bottle and filling a cup before swigging it down.

Hinamori was more than a little shocked, "Matsumoto! The party hasn't even started yet!"

Matsumoto shrugged lazily, "Like that even _matters_. I'll be having fun before the party even starts."

"Gah," Hinamori sighed in frustration. "You're incorrigible."

"Damn right!" Matsumoto slammed the glass down cheerfully.

Hitsugaya looked at Hinamori pleadingly, "Hinamori, watch her throughout the night. Please, for the sake of my sanity." He paused before muttering under his breath, "Or what's left of it."

Hinamori chuckled, "Sure, Hitsugaya-kun. I'll make sure she behaves."

"Good. I'm going to leave now before this madness starts." Hitsugaya said as he turned to leave.

She grinned. "Okay. Have a good night."

"Yes, I'll enjoy my night with the paperwork. I believe our relationship is growing." Hitsugaya said dryly as he walked out the door.

Laughing, Hinamori called out through the door, "Be sure to invite me to the wedding!"

Hitsugaya simply waved her off as he headed into his quarters.

* * *

The party actually turned to be pretty calm. There were only a couple split drinks, and only once did something catch fire, which was quickly put out quickly by Nanao. There were no injuries so far either except for when Ikkaku made an off-handed remark mocking Hisagi's not so secret crush on Matsumoto, causing Hisagi to fall out of his chair.

Iba had brought some stronger alcohol with him when he arrived, and it hadn't really concerned Hinamori either. No one had become really out of control.

That was until someone dared Renji to sneak into Hitsugaya's quarters while he was sleeping and shave his head. Then Hinamori took away the harder alcohol.

It was a wise decision, really.

Yachiro had even shown up for a minutes. She grabbed a handful of food that she liked, bouncing around the room like a ping-pong ball on a sugar high before declaring chirpily that she had to get back to Ken-chan, leaving wreckage in her wake.

Now Hinamori was sitting out on the porch of the tenth division, calmly waiting for Kira. He had been willing to leave when she said she was going to sit out outside, but she'd told him to enjoy himself for another few minutes. She'd needed to get some air anyway.

He hadn't been drunk at all tonight, which had surprised her as he was usually as bad as Matsumoto and the rest. He'd only had a few drinks in total. Hinamori herself had only had a glass of sake and that had been enough to cause a warm, laziness within her muscles, relaxing her more than she normally would be. Her tolerance to alcohol was literally non-existent.

Perhaps Kira had drank less tonight for her benefit; she'd appreciated not having to lug him home like a limp ragdoll, as now that honour had apparently gone to her because she was the "girlfriend". At least the was what Hisagi had informed her of an hour or so before.

He'd obviously had more than a few drinks.

Hinamori wasn't really sure if she could be called Kira's _girlfriend_ just yet. They had been going out for a little over two months now, but she wasn't entirely convinced that term could be applied to their relationship at this point. They hadn't even discussed anything like that yet.

Regardless, their dynamic had shifted from what it had been previously, causing her to think that Kira had probably drank less out of thoughtfulness for her needs over his own. He knew it annoyed her to have to help someone back to their quarters because they'd drunk too much.

It was thoughtful, considerate and well… _sweet_ of him.

Hinamori was glad it was dark and everyone was still inside so no one could see the rather present blush darkening her cheeks.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Hitsugaya walking up behind her, looking rather cross and tired.

"You're still up?" Hinamori said, surprised. It wasn't terribly late, but Hitsugaya generally went to bed fairly early. She made a face, "I guess they were being too loud. I'll make them shut up, if you want."

"That's not necessary. I can't really sleep anyway." He sat down beside her, looking up at the bright, full moon.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She said softly, and Hitsugaya made a little noise of agreement. She suddenly chuckled. "It reminds me of those times when we used to sit out on Granny's porch and watch the sun set and then the moon would come up. We'd eat watermelon for practically hours, and you'd have watermelon juice _all_ over your face. I'd try to wipe it away but you'd swat me away like I was an annoying mosquito." She laughed quietly.

"That's because you _were_." Hitsugaya said dryly and Hinamori poked him in the side playfully. "You'd always be so fussy, mothering me and everything."

"And then Granny would scold us for arguing and make us go to bed." She giggled.

"Che. You were the one arguing, I was being perfectly reasonable."

"More like _stubborn_." Hinamori interjected, and Hitsugaya returned her earlier poke.

"Ow! Don't, Shiro-chan!"

"So _whiney_. Like you didn't poke me first. And it's Hitsugaya-_taicho_."

"Bah, whatever." Hinamori grumbled, lying flat on her back so that she could look up at the moon easier. Hitsugaya did the same, and they were close enough that their shoulders were touching. "I so want some watermelon now." She murmured.

"I haven't had any in years." Hitsugaya said softly.

"Me either. It isn't exactly the most dignified food to eat in public." Hinamori smiled, her gaze faraway as she reminisced. "Those were fun times, weren't they Shiro-chan?"

"They were." He agreed. "No responsibilities or paperwork…"

"Stop, you're making me miss childhood." She laughed.

There was a shuffling sound behind them and they both turned to see Kira. He looked at Hinamori, "Hey. Are you ready to leave?"

"Yep." Hinamori said, standing up and dusting off her robes.

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow at them. "You're leaving already?"

"Yeah, I'm tired. But don't worry, Isae fuku-taicho is still there, and she's watching Matsumoto like a hawk." Hinamori said with a teasing note in her voice.

"Well, that's some small comfort." Hitsugaya replied dryly, before standing up as well. "I may as well go to bed too."

"Okay. Goodnight, Hitsugaya-kun." Hinamori smiled at him.

"Goodnight, Hitsugaya-taicho." Kira said politely.

Hitsugaya bade them goodnight as well. He watched them walk away, staying long enough on the porch to see Kira wrap an around Hinamori before she laid her head on his shoulder. Sighing, he headed back into the tenth division.

* * *

"Good party?" Hinamori asked as she and Kira walked back to their divisions. She shivered slightly from the cool air of the evening, huddling closer to him for warmth.

"Yeah. Nothing too insane happened though." He said, tucking her closer to him in an unconscious attempt to keep her warm.

"Thank the gods for that." She muttered darkly and Kira laughed.

They stopped in front of the fifth division. "Well, I guess I'll say goodnight." Kira said, smiling slightly before leaning down to kiss her. His lips were soft and she found herself melting willingly against him. The kiss left her toes tingling, warmth spreading through her veins and she realized that she didn't want him to leave. "Don't go." She murmured against his lips, hands clinging to the front of his robes.

He pulled away slightly, breaking the kiss. "What?"

"Don't go." She whispered again.

Kira blinked. "Do you mean…"

She took a deep breath, before smiling tentatively, "Stay the night." She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him again. When she pulled away, he fixed her with an unreadable expression.

Finally, after several long seconds he spoke.

"Okay."

* * *

**End of chapter four.**

**Author's notes:** My, my, Hinamori and Kira seem to be getting a lot closer, huh? :P I foresee more Hitsugaya angst/jealousy ahead… things are going to become more intense in the next chapter.

Also, on that note. A few months ago, when my friend Chris heard that I was writing a fic with a Hinamori/Kira pairing in it, screamed, "EMO BABIES!!!" Very loudly, and repetitively. It seemed appropriate to mention that after the end of this chapter. So in response to his spazz out, no Chris, there will not be any emo babies. At least not in this fic. :P Poor Kira, he's so misunderstood. XD

One more thing. I feel the need to thank my best friend, who is my beta reader… of sorts. XD If it wasn't for her encouragement during this fic, I would not have posted it, let alone continued it. Thank you, Chelsea, for being my bestie. ♥ ♥


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** Tempests of the Heart (5/?)  
**Author:** blue_crystal_9  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Pairing:** Eventual Hitsugaya/Hinamori, Kira/Hinamori  
**Spoilers:** Anything up to episode 62 at this point.  
**Warnings:** Innuendo, swearing.  
**Summary:** It is years after the betrayal of Soul Society. Hinamori's finally beginning to move on with her life, and with that comes much change. Can Hitsugaya handle these changes?  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Beach; Tite Kubo does. I am not making any profit from this; it is for entertainment purposes only.  
**Author's Notes: **Holy crap, I actually this out two weeks after the previous chapter instead of like, a month. Yay. :P

Also, I apologize if there are any errors. I was really tired before I posted this (one of my relatives was staying with my family and she returned home today so we had to take her to the airport. At 4:30 a.m. might I add, so I decided there was no point to go to sleep because I'm usually up until 3:00 or later anyway. So after her plane left I came home and crashed, but I still only had about three hours of sleep. And this is coming from someone who needs at least nine hours of sleep to properly function. ;_; ), so I may have missed some mistakes.

**Tempests of the Heart**  
Chapter Five

* * *

Hitsugaya was beginning to suspect something was going on between them. They were… _closer_ somehow. They came into breakfast together, which wasn't too unusual, but normally they came separately and met in the mess hall.

But it wasn't like he constantly watched them. He wasn't a _stalker_ or anything.

Really.

It hadn't helped his suspicions when he'd seen Kira take Hinamori's hand on their way to a table.

And he'd heard him call her Momo. _Momo_. Were they actually on a first name basis now? That… well, that said a lot.

His suspicions grew at an alarming rate when Hinamori gave Kira a quick peck on the lips before she headed off to work.

In _public_. He'd never seen them kiss in public before.

Yes, they had definitely grown closer over the weekend.

But… did that mean that they'd…?

Obviously, it meant something significant. But he wasn't going to allow his thoughts to stray _there_ anymore.

He ignored the twinge of jealousy he suddenly felt and forced himself to think about something else.

* * *

Matsumoto had caught up with Hinamori on the way to work after breakfast.

"So, how did the rest of your weekend go? I didn't see you after Friday night."

Hinamori smiled, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "Good. Really good."

"So, you and Kira slept together." It was a statement, not a question.

Really, by now she shouldn't be surprised Matsumoto had been able to guess it. She still blushed furiously, however. "How do you _know_ these things?" She hissed, looking around wildly to see if anyone had overheard.

"Because it's pretty obvious from your happy expression. Not to mention your body language screams it. You're not one for subtlety." Matsumoto replied simply.

Hinamori looked down at herself, and brushed off her robes, as though that would make the obviousness disappear.

"So, how'd it go?" Matsumoto pried.

"Nosey much?" Hinamori snapped, embarrassed. Her face reddened even further.

"Oh come on, spill. I need someone to live through vicariously." She made a face, "Even if it is with Kira."

Hinamori sighed, relenting. "Well… at first it got off to a slow start because, well, Kira and I are kind of…"

"Shy, inexperienced and awkward?" Matsumoto supplied, smirking.

"Well… yes. But then it went pretty good. Better than good." She flushed again.

"Well, that's good. I'm happy for you." Matsumoto said, an almost teasing note to her voice.

Hinamori looked at her suspiciously, getting the feeling that somehow she was being made fun of. She certainly wouldn't put it past Matsumoto. "Yeah, thanks. I think. And now we are stopping this conversation and moving on to a different topic. Far, _far_ away from Kira and me."

Matsumoto laughed, "Okay, fine."

* * *

A hour later, Matsumoto sat at her desk, pretending to do paperwork. Her mind was more concerned with trying to figure out a way to sneak in a bottle of sake without her captain finding out.

His voice made her jump. "Matsumoto…" She cringed, waiting for a reprimand from the white haired captain. It never came. Instead, he asked hesitantly, "Are Hinamori and Kira… closer now?"

Matsumoto blinked, surprised. "Er… yeah, I guess. I'm pretty sure they're officially together now and all. Why?"

"Nothing. I just noticed they seemed to act differently around each other." His voice was cool, controlled.

Matsumoto knew that internally, it was a completely different matter.

"I'm sorry, taicho."

"There's no need for you to be, Matsumoto."

"But-"

"No." Hitsugaya said sharply. "Stay out of it, Matsumoto. It's none of your concern."

He stood up and stalked toward the door.

"Where are you going?"

"For a walk." He said shortly, slamming the door behind him.

Matsumoto sighed heavily, running a hand through her hair.

This whole business was _really_ getting frustrating.

* * *

Hitsugaya walked past the division barracks until he hit a grassy area of soul society which was more open with less activity. He paced around this area, trying to get his emotions under control.

Jealousy was the hardest to control. It seeped through his veins making him more furious than he already was. A tiny voice in his head whispered, '_I told you they'd eventually sleep together_.' Not that it had been exactly confirmed or anything (and he certainly wasn't going to go look for confirmation either), but he just _knew_. He'd hoped that they were not going to reach that point, but apparently they had.

For the look of pity Matsumoto had given him a few minutes ago had said everything he needed to know.

Hitsugaya clenched his teeth, fighting the urge to hit something. Specifically Kira, and repeatedly. But that wouldn't change the situation, and he wasn't going to do it anyway. It was improper behaviour for a captain, even if said captain was extremely angry right now.

He exhaled harshly, the frown on his face more pronounced than usual. This was the second time in the last few weeks he'd gotten snappish with his vice captain over something besides paperwork and drinking. And even then, he usually only got mildly irritated with her. Today, he'd been a hair's breath away from actually yelling at her. He shouldn't be taking out his frustrations on her; it was unwarranted. She was only concerned, after all. He sighed; he needed to apologize to her later.

He needed to get himself under control. Yes, Hinamori and Kira were… _lovers_ now. His jaw tightened at the thought, but he ignored it. He needed to deal with it, because it didn't seem like that fact would change any time soon.

Regardless, Hitsugaya had more than just strong suspicions that Hinamori didn't feel the same way about him as he did her. He hadn't been all that subtle about how he felt about her when they were younger. He'd been so overly protective of her, and had nearly lost his own life trying to save hers. That, he felt, spoke volumes. So, either she was completely oblivious, or wasn't willing or ready to be with him.

He wasn't going to try to interfere with her and Kira, because he hadn't seen her that happy in years. She actually seemed to be _glowing_ lately. And that was really all he wanted, for her to be content.

So if one day she changed her mind, or if he was right about her being oblivious to his feelings and actually realized what was going on, she knew where to find him. He'd always be around, waiting in the wings.

In his heart, he knew he'd wait forever for her.

* * *

When Hitsugaya came back into the office, he entered to see Matsumoto obstructed by a large pile of paperwork.

When she spotted him, she nearly cried in relief, "Oh, thank _god_ you're back. The paperwork's been piling up since you left and…" She trailed off, making puppy eyes at him. "Help me! _Please!_"

"Oy." Hitsugaya sighed, before grabbing half of the pile. "Fine. But make sure you do your share. Including whatever else you haven't finished."

"Absolutely, taicho!" She beamed at him.

For several minutes, there was only the sound of paper rustling.

"Matsumoto?"

"Yes?"

"I apologize for snapping at you earlier."

"It's fine, taicho." Matsumoto said dismissively.

"Still, you didn't deserve it. And I don't believe in getting angry with someone unless there's a good reason for it."

He heard her move, and suddenly she was by his desk. She squeezed his shoulder comfortingly, smiling at him slightly. "Thanks, taicho." His lips quirked up in response, and she looked up at him, her gaze supportive. "I hope she realizes what she's missing."

"Me too."

She let go then, and her face brightened. "Well, since you're back now, it's time for me to take my break!"

"But-" Before he could even get the words out of his mouth, she was out of the door in a blur of strawberry blond hair and black robes.

He growled lowly, thundering, "_Matsumoto!_"

He really needed to keep a leash on her.

* * *

"Momo!"

Hinamori turned to see Kira trying to catch up with her.

"Hey, Izuru." She smiled at him when he finally caught up with her.

He kissed her lightly before speaking. "Guess what I just heard?"

"What?" She asked, intertwining her hand with his.

"Apparently Yamamoto is considering letting us have a little celebration."

"Really." Surprise colored her voice.

"Yeah, they're thinking of having a ball."

"A _ball_?" Hinamori asked incredulously.

"Yeah. I mean, it's only a rumour and everything, but it's still a possibility."

"Well, it would be fun." Hinamori admitted, before frowning suspiciously, "Wait, who did you hear this from?"

"I heard it from Renji who heard it from Iba who heard it from-"

"Izuru." Hinamori gave Kira a look. "They're not exactly the most reliable people, at least concerning things outside of work. Who knows where they might have picked up that story."

"Still, it would be cool. And," He said as relinquished her hand to wrap an arm around her shoulders, "I was thinking that if this event were to occur, that you might accompany me."

"Oh, were you now?" Hinamori asked, a teasing note in her voice.

"Yes." Kira grinned.

"Sure. I'd love to go with you, if there actually is going to be a ball." She smiled up at him.

"Awesome." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "It's supposed to be around the middle of the month, so in like two weeks, if the rumours are correct."

"Hmm." Hinamori hummed thoughtfully, before she suddenly froze. It suddenly hit her what time of the year it was. She'd been so busy with Kira and everything else that she hadn't even noticed the date that was looming before her.

On Friday, it would be the anniversary of the day Aizen had tried to kill her.

"What's wrong?" Kira asked, noticing her expression.

She snapped out of it, trying to smile. "Nothing. I'm fine."

"Okay. If you're sure." He gave her a puzzled look.

She kissed him. "Really, I'm great. Now, let's go; I'm hungry."

Kira allowed her to tug him toward the mess hall in search of supper.

Hinamori swallowed, anxiety building in her stomach. She hated when _that_ anniversary came around. The day would be awful, as it always was. It was one of the days where the depression would hit her hardest.

She hid her anxiety and kept the smile on her face.

She didn't need to worry Kira about it anyway.

* * *

**End of chapter five.**

**Notes:** By using the word "ball", I don't really mean quite that formally. But using the word dance seemed way too informal… so ball it was. Basically a party-dance type thing. :P Because we all know how much the Japanese like to party. ;P

Also, I'm going to try to have a chapter or even more out a week, because in the beginning of September I'm starting university, and who knows how busy I'll be then. So hence, I'd like to have this fic finished before I leave. :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** Tempests of the Heart (6/?)**  
Author: **blue_crystal_9**  
Rating:** PG-13**  
Pairing:** Eventual Hitsugaya/Hinamori, Kira/Hinamori**  
Spoilers:** Anything up to episode 62 at this point.**  
Warnings:** Innuendo, swearing.**  
Summary:** It is years after the betrayal of Soul Society. Hinamori's finally beginning to move on with her life, and with that comes much change. Can Hitsugaya handle these changes?**  
Disclaimer:** I do not own Beach; Tite Kubo does. I am not making any profit from this; it is for entertainment purposes only.**  
Author's Notes: **I spent my entire day lazing around; first I watched one of the Star Trek movies (the third one, "The Search for Spock". I'm a total Star Trek/Spock fangirl, by the way), then I wrote this fic while watching a bunch of random crap on TV. It was a _very_ lazy day. :P

**Tempests of the Heart**  
Chapter Six

* * *

Hinamori rested her head against her hand, trying to breathe steadily in a desperate attempt to calm herself.

It wasn't working very well however.

She gave up, curling up in a tight ball on her bed while she choked back sobs. Her head ached, she felt like she was going to throw up and there was tightness in her chest, a breathless panic that she couldn't get rid of.

Another year had passed since Aizen had tried to kill her today, and she was feeling terrible. She hadn't felt this bad since the first few weeks after it had happened. It probably had something to do with the fact that she'd dreamt about him the night before, a terrible, awful, utterly realistic dream. She'd woken up with tears on her face and a lingering headache that was now bridging on a full blown migraine.

She'd been feeling so terrible that she hadn't gone to work; she hadn't missed a day of work in _years_. She'd mainly been lying desolately on her bed all day, staring at the wall and thinking about things she'd rather not think about. She'd drift in and out of sleep every once and a while, but it had not been restful and had made her even more tired. She was exhausted, she hadn't eaten, and she just wanted this day to be _over_.

There was a quiet knock on her door then, which startled her. She sat up slightly, and wiped the tears off her cheeks. "Enter." She winced at the shakiness of her voice.

Kira poked his head in the door, looking at her warily. "Can I come in?"

"Of course."

He took one look at her pale face and red eyes and sighed sadly. "I can't believe I hadn't realized what today was until just now. I hadn't seen you around during work, and one of the lower seated shinigami from the fifth division mentioned you'd taken today off, and then it hit me. I've just been so busy lately that I hadn't even been paying attention to what time of year it was."

"I only realized it a few days ago too, actually." Hinamori murmured.

"It's weird for me to have missed it though… I mean, my captain betrayed us as well. Usually this particular day sort of looms before me, the sort of day to dread. But this year I just… _forgot_, almost." He shrugged. He walked across the room then and sat on the bed beside her, giving her a concerned look. "How are you doing?"

"I've been better." Hinamori gave him a watery smile.

Kira pulled her lightly into a hug. She rested her head against his shoulder and let out a long sigh.

"Would you like me to stay with you for a while? Or would you rather be alone?"

"I've been alone all day. I'd love some company." Hinamori said softly.

"Okay." He shifted into a more comfortable position, pulling her closer to against his side.

She sniffed suddenly, feeling her nose sting and her eyes fill up with tears again. She pressed her face into his shoulder, trying desperately not to cry.

She really, _really_ couldn't wait for this day to be over.

* * *

Hitsugaya sat in the mess hall during supper, mindlessly picking at his food. He'd noticed Hinamori hadn't come to supper, and was feeling a little concerned.

For he was the only one, besides Hinamori, who had this day marked vividly in his internal calendar. It was the day he hadn't saved her, the day he had failed her. And every year that this day rolled around, he worried about her. He was even more worried about her than usual today, as he suspected she hadn't gone to work. That hadn't happened for years and years. But he knew that if she needed him, she would come find him. That was what she had always done.

But the nagging worry wouldn't stop. Perhaps he'd check on her after supper, just to make sure she was alright…

There was a clank of a plate on the table and he looked up to see Matsumoto pulling out the chair across from him in order to sit in.

"Hey taicho." Matsumoto said through a mouthful of food.

He gave her a ghost of a smile in return. The slight shadows under her eyes didn't escape his notice however. This day was always hard on everyone, not just him and Hinamori.

"Matsumoto, do you know if Hinamori went to work today?"

Matsumoto stopped chewing and regarded him silently. Finally she said, "No, I don't think so. That's what Kira said anyway."

Hitsugaya frowned. "Huh. I hope she hadn't been alone all day. Perhaps I should go see if-"

Matsumoto cut him off, avoiding his eyes. "Uh, Kira went over to see her a little while ago."

"Oh?" He tried not to make his voice sound strangled, but his throat had suddenly closed up.

"Yeah. He told me before supper, because we were supposed to go drinking with a few other people but he said he might be late, or he might not be there at all, depending on how Hinamori was feeling."

"Right." Hitsugaya forced himself to swallow around the lump in his throat, and started eating again, ignoring the dull ache in his chest.

Hinamori had always gone to him when she was upset. But now, she was going to Kira.

The ache in his chest intensified. If that was what she wanted, if Kira was the person who gave her comfort, if that was made her happy… then that was it.

He was just going to have to deal with it.

* * *

She'd shooed Kira away after a while, not because she'd wanted him to go but because she didn't want him to be sitting in the dark, being angst ridden like she had all day. Besides, he had his "lets forget out sorrows" drinking binge with Matsumoto and the rest which happened every year on this day. She'd forced him out despite his protests. He'd tried to get her to come but she was in no mood for alcohol.

Part of the reason she was so upset was because she'd realized something today. Everyone else, even those who had been affected the most like her and Kira seemed to have almost forgotten that this day was coming. She had nearly forgotten as well, but then after it had hit her it was all she had been able to think about it. But for everyone else… they weren't as bothered by it anymore. But to her, it was still extremely painful. Although, this date had always hurt her more than the rest of soul society because of what had happened to her. The date the others seemed to remember the most was the end of the war. People still mourned fallen friends, and she did as well, but she always was more upset on this day. It felt like she was still stuck here while everyone else was finally beginning to… move on. It left her feeling unsettled, somehow.

She sat by the window, watching the rail in the foggy grey of the evening. The weather all day had been exactly like her mood; bleak, cold and depressing. She sighed, and leaned her head against the cool glass. She'd tried to sleep again earlier, but had been unsuccessful.

Hinamori suddenly saw a figure walking into the gloom. The person had their back turned away from her and was walking past the fifth division, but Hinamori could tell who it was right away. No one else had the same messy white hair as Hitsugaya. He must be heading back to the tenth division from supper.

Suddenly, she realized where she'd rather be right now. He had always comforted her in situations like this before, and there was no other person's presence that calmed her as much as Hitsugaya.

She grabbed a heavier robe to throw on over the white robes she had been wearing all day and hurriedly headed out the door.

* * *

Hitsugaya was drying his damp hair off when there was a quiet tap on the door. He opened it and blinked in surprise when he saw Hinamori.

She gave him a hesitant smile, "Hi."

" 'Evening. Come in." He stepped aside so that she could enter and then he shut the door behind. He turned to look at her then, his eyes watching her intently. "Are you alright?"

She brushed a piece of her bangs away wearily, "No, not really. To be perfectly honest… today just _sucked_."

His mouth quirked up a bit, but then his expression turned solemn again. "I'm not really surprised."

"I know, but… today was worst than usual. I almost had a panic attack, I think."

His looked concerned then. "Really?"

"Yeah, I couldn't breathe for a while there. Eventually I calmed down though."

"What made it worst than usual?"

"Well, I had a dream… and it was pretty awful."

"Ah."

"It was just really realistic and brought back unpleasant memories and everything just sort of… piled up." Her voice broke then, and she covered her face with her hands.

Hitsugaya immediately pulled her into his embrace. She pressed her face into the curve of his neck and cried. After a while, her tears slowed and she sniffed, before pulling away. "Sorry I cried all over you."

"It's fine."

"But I know you hate it when I cry." She bit her lip, looking at him guiltily. There were still unshed tears in her eyes, making her eyes shimmer unnaturally.

He sighed, and leaned forward to wipe away a tear that had escaped and trickled down her cheek. "I'd rather you cry than let all of your emotions build up. That would be worst."

"I suppose so." She mumbled, and then sniffed again.

"You'll be fine." Hitsugaya murmured, and Hinamori nodded mutely in agreement. He surprised them both by pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Hinamori blinked, gaping a little. "Er…"

Hitsugaya's cheeks looked a little pink. "Sorry. I don't know where _that_ came from."

Hinamori gave him an embarrassed little smile. "It's okay." She stood then, her face slightly flushed. "Anyway, I think I'm going to go to bed now, so I'm going to go back to my quarters."

"Okay. Make sure you eat before you do." Hitsugaya said as she headed to the door.

"I will."

"Well, goodnight then. I hope you're night's better than your day was."

Hinamori snorted. "Me too. Goodnight." She gave him a small smile before she left.

He stared at the door in bewilderment. What had just happened? Clearly, he was losing control of his emotions.

That was not good. Not good at all.

* * *

Hinamori headed back to her division, still slightly shocked. She couldn't believe he'd just kissed her forehead. That had been… strange, but not unpleasant. It was just that she was used to him being uncomfortable when in close proximately with someone. Usually he stiffened when she hugged him… let alone all this kissing on the forehead business.

The spot was still warm where he'd kissed her. She touched the spot hesitantly with her fingertips, in an almost trance-like state. A warm feeling spread through her chest, a feeling she wasn't familiar with. She didn't know what it meant.

She blinked, and then the moment was gone. What was she doing anyway, standing outside in the dark, acting like an idiot? She shook a head at herself and then continued walking back to the fifth division.

* * *

Hitsugaya had been watching them discretely for the last few minutes. It looked like they were arguing, or at least having some sort of intense discussion. He would have went on his way then, as he'd only just noticed them outside the mess hall on his way back to work after lunch. It was then that he noticed Hinamori looked upset. She wiped her eyes, and seemed to be shaking a little, perhaps from trying not to sob.

She was crying. Again. And it was _Kira's_ fault.

Kira murmured something into her ear, and she nodded, wiping at her eyes again before walking away.

He waited until she was out of eyesight before walking over to Kira with barely controlled rage glinting in his cold green eyes.

Kira didn't even have time to speak before Hitsugaya had pinned him against the wall. "What the hell did you do to her?!" He snarled.

"N-nothing!" Kira sputtered.

"Bullshit. She was crying. What. Did. You. Do."

"She wasn't crying over me!" Kira said almost exasperatedly. "It was about something else."

"I don't believe you."

"Ask her if you don't believe me!" Kira's voice had an undertone of aggravation now.

Hitsugaya stared unblinkingly into Kira's eyes for several minutes.

Kira broke the silence by muttering, "I don't see how this is any of your business anyway. It's between her and me, not you."

Hitsugaya barely refrained from hitting him. He growled lowly before letting go of Kira's robes roughly and stalking off.

* * *

A few hours later, the door to his office flew open suddenly and hit the wall with a bang.

Hitsugaya looked up to see Hinamori glowering at him. "Is there something I can do for you, Hinamori?"

"Yes, there is." She said tersely. She turned to Matsumoto, who had been watching the scene before her with wide eyes. "Rangiku, I'd like to speak to Hitsugaya-kun alone if that's alright."

"Sure. Go ahead. I'll take my break now." Matsumoto shot Hitsugaya a bewildered look then left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Hinamori then whipped around, increasing the intensity of her glare.

"Really, Hinamori. What's going on?"

She walked closer to his desk until she was standing right in front of it, her voice forcefully light, "Oh, I was just informed by Kira of a particular …_incident_ that occurred between you and him this afternoon."

"Oh. That." His voice was flat.

"Yes, _that_. You attacked him, Hitsugaya-kun!" She placed her hands on her hips.

"Not really."

"You pinned him up against a _wall_."

"Well, he made you cry."

"No, he didn't!" She snapped.

"Well then, why were you crying?"

"Because I told him about how I went to you last night for comfort, and I felt guilty because that made it look like I didn't trust him as much as I trust you. But he was perfectly nice about it all, and that made me feel even guiltier, so I -_predictably_- started crying." She gave him an extremely disgruntled look.

His eyes narrowed. "It that all it was?"

"_Yes_." She nearly growled. "And besides, how was it any of your business?"

He blinked, "Excuse me?"

"It wasn't any of your concern!"

"Jeez, why are you so cranky?" He snapped back, his tone matching hers.

"I'm _cranky_ because you almost got in a fight with my boyfriend over _nothing_."

"It wasn't nothing." His voice was cold.

"_Yes_, it was. Why are you always like that with Kira?" She demanded.

"Because I don't trust him."

"Well, _obviously_. But there's something else, isn't there?"

"Whatever." He said indifferently, avoiding her question.

"Hitsugaya-kun! Tell me what it is!" Her voice was bordering on a yell.

His green eyes shot up to her face, his expression unreadable. He'd put up a wall of indifference and ice to block his emotions from showing. "Fine, Hinamori. I don't think he's good enough for you. In fact, I think he shouldn't be with you at all."

Hinamori froze for a second before finally saying in disbelief, "_What_?!"

"You heard me."

"How could you think that? Do you have any idea how much that hurts me? I really like Kira, Hitsugaya-kun. Maybe even more than that. And he's never been anything but sweet to me."

"Well, that's your prerogative. And besides, you wanted to know."

"Well, I guess I brought it upon myself then." Her voice was sarcastic, and Hitsugaya did not reply. Instead he looked away and turned back to his paperwork.

The silence stretched between them until Hinamori finally spoke up, her eyes bright with anger.

"So, that's it then? That's all you have to say about this?"

"Yes."

"You're not even going to apologize to him?" She asked incredulously.

Hitsugaya snorted. "Certainly not."

"Fine then. From now on, I don't think you should… _interfere_ like you did today."

He looked up at her then, anger flashing in his eyes. "So, are you saying you want me to stay out of your business?"

"No, I'm _telling_ you to stay out of it, Hitsugaya-_taicho_." She said heatedly.

He simply turned back to his paperwork. "Fine."

"_Fine._"

He heard her spin around and stalk out of the room. The door slammed loudly behind her.

He didn't bother to look up.

* * *

**End of chapter six.**

**Notes:** I think that Hinamori would always see that day Aizen stabbed her as a sort of "dark day" (kind of like with Luke on Gilmore Girls, for anyone who watches that show), and would always dread it and feel terrible when that day came around. Which is why I figured she would be more upset about it's anniversary than Kira or Matsumoto or Hisagi. Even though they were also betrayed on that same day, I think they would move on quicker, while with Hinamori it would take more time. And Hitsugaya too would find it difficult because he would always see it as the day he failed to save her. I don't think she'll ever stop dreading it either, because with something like that you can't just "get over it". It will always stay with her. The pain would dull, but I don't think she's ever going to forget about it. She was damaged too much by it, both physically and certainly emotionally for that to happen.

Well, everyone seemed to be getting rather irritated. *lol* It was probably all the drama in this chapter. :P

And yay, now I can watch more Star Trek. Kekeke. Wow, I'm so nerdy. :P


	7. Chapter 7

**Title:** Tempests of the Heart (7/10)  
**Author: **blue_crystal_9  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Pairing:** Eventual Hitsugaya/Hinamori, Kira/Hinamori  
**Spoilers:** Anything up to episode 62 at this point.  
**Warnings:** Innuendo, swearing.  
**Summary:** It is years after the betrayal of Soul Society. Hinamori's finally beginning to move on with her life, and with that comes much change. Can Hitsugaya handle these changes?  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Beach; Tite Kubo does. I am not making any profit from this; it is for entertainment purposes only.  
**Author's Notes:**So I finally decided that this fic will definitely be 10 chapters long in total. There may or may not be an epilogue as well, I'm not entirely sure yet.

**Tempests of the Heart**  
Chapter Seven

* * *

They hadn't spoken in two weeks.

Well, that wasn't entirely true; they exchanged a few words while at work. But it was stiff, customary, required. Whenever Hinamori said anything to him it was always extremely formal, and she always called him Hitsugaya-taicho, never Hitsugaya-kun or Shiro-chan. It didn't give him the satisfaction he thought it would. It didn't feel right, somehow. In normal circumstances he would be glad but not now, not when she was still angry at him. Not when the last time he had really spoken with her was the night they had argued.

He wasn't really all that angry with her anymore, mostly because the argument between them had been foolish and had just resulted in both of them saying things they shouldn't have. He was, however, still rather offended over the fact that she had told him to stay out of her business.

Well okay, he _had_ sort of brought it upon himself. He'd grudgingly admitted to himself that he'd gone a little too far with Kira. But he had only been trying to protect her.

He just wished she would realize that.

* * *

Matsumoto was annoyed. Very, very annoyed.

Good grief, they were acting like _children_. They hadn't talked for days and days and it was getting on her nerves. She'd bugged Hitsugaya about it several times, trying to get him to go talk to Hinamori, or apologize, or _something_.

Unfortunately, she hadn't succeeded in that venture.

Hitsugaya had said that he wasn't mad at her anymore, but that Hinamori was obviously still mad at him. He'd said that the only thing to do was wait until she was less angry and _then_ go talk to her. Otherwise, it would be pointless as she wouldn't listen. He would just wait until she was ready to talk.

That had made sense to Matsumoto. At the time. But now two weeks had passed and still nothing had progressed. If it was up to them, they would never apologize and forever be in a grudge.

The stupidity of it all made her head ache.

So now she was going to do something about it, unlike them. She'd already tried to nudge Hitsugaya into action, but that had been fruitless. So now she was going to go to Hinamori and give her a rather hard _shove_ in the right direction.

Matsumoto was a little annoyed with herself. She should have ambushed Hinamori days ago. She was the easier of the two to pushover and manipulate, after all.

She'd been stalking her for the last ten minutes. It was nearly the end of lunch, but there was still fifteen minutes left of the midday break. And this way, Hinamori didn't have any excuses to use in order to escape. She'd already had lunch and she didn't need to be back to work yet, so there was no reason she couldn't have a nice… _chat_ with Matsumoto before the end of the lunch break.

Matsumoto grinned slyly; oh yes, she _had_ her.

She waited until Hinamori had split up from Kira after lunch and was walking back to the fifth division before she pounced.

She snuck up behind her, before saying very loudly and cheerfully, "Hellooooo Hinamori." She draped an arm around the younger girl's shoulders in case she tried to escape.

The poor girl didn't know what hit her; she squeaked in fright and jumped about a foot.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Matsumoto said brightly, nearly blinding Hinamori with the force of her smile.

"It's alright." Hinamori could hear her heart beat in her ears. "What's up?"

"Oh, not much." Her voice was purposely light. "I was just, you know, wondering when you and Hitsugaya were going to get over this ridiculous fight of yours and start talking like civilized people again."

Hinamori gaped at her in shock before desperately trying to think of an escape method. "Uh, I have to-"

Matsumoto rolled her eyes as her grip around Hinamori's shoulders tightened. "Don't even try that, Hinamori. You I and both know you are perfectly free for the next fifteen minutes."

Hinamori sighed, her shoulders sagging in defeat. "Okay, fine. What do you want?"

"I want you and Hitsugaya-taicho to get along again."

"Ugh. No way. I'm still severely displeased with him." Hinamori grumbled.

"An enormous 'obviously!' to that. So _what_. Get over it. Your argument was stupid, anyway."

"Hey!" Hinamori protested.

"Well, it _was_." Matsumoto was unrelenting.

"I'm shocked Hitsugaya-kun told you anything about it."

"Well, I'm quite certain he only told me the basics, but I still got the general idea from what I managed to weasel out of him."

Hinamori sighed, "Regardless, he seriously overreacted."

"Of course he did. He was trying to protect you, and when he does that he tends to go a little overboard. We've seen evidence of that before. But it's not like he actually got into a full blown fight this time." Matsumoto reminded her.

"Yeah, I guess." Hinamori bit her lip. "I just wish he'd talked to me first before he went all nuts."

"Well, when concerning you, Hitsugaya-taicho doesn't really think rationally."

"Yeah, he snaps." She grumbled.

"It's because he _cares_, Hinamori."

"Yeah, I know, and I'm glad that he does. But he could have shown it in a less violent manner." Hinamori paused, and then her eyes widened. "Wait, you don't think Hitsugaya-kun thinks that I don't appreciate him protecting me and everything?"

"Well, I think that might be part of the reason he hasn't tried to talk to you. He's probably a little hurt and offended." Matsumoto replied.

"Aw, crap!" Hinamori smacked her head with her hand. "I never wanted him to think that!"

"Then you should go talk to him." Matsumoto prodded.

Hinamori sighed again, before nodding. "I will. This has gone on long enough; I miss talking to him. It's like there's… something missing, without his presence there." She brushed a hand through her hair, looking slightly sheepish. "You're right, this whole thing was foolish."

Matsumoto nodded encouragingly, "Yes, go now."

Hinamori suddenly grinned, "He's been heaping the paperwork on you, hasn't he?"

Matsumoto sighed, "Yes. By the tons. He's a slave driver when he's cranky. Make it end, _please_."

"Aw." Hinamori patted Matsumoto's shoulder, a teasing light in her eyes. "I knew you had an ulterior motive for doing this."

"Oh, _shut up_," She complained. "It's all your fault I've had to work in such conditions over the last two weeks."

"Well, at least he didn't take away the sake."

"Dear _God_, don't even say those cursed words. If he'd done that, I would've convinced you to talk to him ages ago."

Hinamori snorted with laughter. "I don't doubt that one bit, Rangiku-san."

* * *

Hitsugaya was just tidying up his desk and getting ready to leave work for the day when there was a knock on his door.

"Come in."

Hinamori peeked in shyly, "Hello."

"Hinamori." He blinked, slightly flustered. "Er-"

"Look," She stepped in, closing the door quietly behind her. "I just came to, well…" She trailed off before rolling her eyes at herself and crossing the room to wrap him in a hug. He froze for a second before relaxing and wrapping his arms around her, returning the embrace. "I'm sorry." She whispered against his shoulder. "I said things I didn't mean. I'm grateful that you look out for me Hitsugaya-kun, I just think you could have done it a better way."

_Hitsugaya-kun_. She was calling him that again.

This time he certainly wasn't going to complain.

"You're right." He agreed, and her breath fanned against his neck, making him shiver. "I shouldn't have acted so rashly. I'm sorry too. Forgive me?"

"Always." Hinamori murmured back, hugging him tighter. "So, this week had been a lot of _stupid_."

"As was last week as well. I assume by the use of the word 'stupid' that you've been harassed by Matsumoto?"

"Yep. She really hates that paperwork, huh?"

Hitsugaya's chest rumbled with laughter. "That she does."

"So, I think we should agree to never be that foolish again?" Hinamori smiled at him.

"Deal." Hitsugaya gave her a crooked grin in return. "And I'll apologize to Kira tomorrow."

"Thanks, Hitsugaya-kun." She hugged him once more before releasing him. He missed her warmth immediately. "Have you had dinner yet?"

He shook his head. "No, I was just about to go and get some, actually. What about you?"

"I haven't had anything yet either. Do you want to go eat together?"

"Sure. Maybe one of the restaurants around instead of at the mess hall. We haven't done that in a long time." Hitsugaya said thoughtfully.

Hinamori smiled brightly at him, "Yes, let's! I'm starving." She looped her arm through his and tugged him outside.

The storm had apparently calmed.

For now.

* * *

**End of chapter seven.**

**Notes:** This chapter was a little shorter than usual, but the next chapter is going to have a lot going on in it, so it'll be nice and long. :)

And there was a serious lack of Kira in this chapter. There'll be plenty of him in the next chapter, for those of you who are Kira lovers, so don't worry. ;)

And yes, I went with another overdramatic, foreboding 'dun dun dun!' sort of ending again. Yeah, I know, I'm made of fail and lameness. *lol*


	8. Chapter 8

**Title:** Tempests of the Heart (8/10)  
**Author:** blue_crystal_9  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Pairing:** Eventual Hitsugaya/Hinamori, Kira/Hinamori  
**Spoilers:** Anything up to episode 62 at this point.  
**Warnings:** Innuendo, swearing.  
**Summary:** It is years after the betrayal of Soul Society. Hinamori's finally beginning to move on with her life, and with that comes much change. Can Hitsugaya handle these changes?  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Beach; Tite Kubo does. I am not making any profit from this; it is for entertainment purposes only.  
**Author's Notes:**I forced myself to stop watching _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ in order to write this (and boy, let me tell you, that was a feat in itself as I am seriously addicted to that show), because I'm determined to have this finished and posted before I go off to university.

**Tempests of the Heart**  
Chapter Eight

* * *

There was something tickling her face. She swatted it away half heartedly, still half asleep and too tired to really care.

Then a voice weaved in through her dreams, "Momo."

"Mrghhh." Hinamori mumbled, turning away from the noise.

"Momo, wake up. It's seven thirty." Something soft touched her neck.

She buried further into the pillow and ignored the voice.

"Momo, come on. We have a meeting at eight o'clock, remember?" She recognized the voice now. It was Kira, and he sounded amused and slightly exasperated.

"Go away." Hinamori grumbled and he sighed. How could she help it if her bed was ridiculously comfortable, therefore preventing her from leaving it?

She felt the covers being pulled away and she found herself suddenly being picked up and lifted in Kira's arms and away from the bed. She shrieked, flailing wildly. "Put me down!"

"Nope. You need to get up." Kira said, a twinkle of mischief in his blue eyes. Hinamori glared at him until he rolled his eyes and lightly tossed her back on the bed. She cocooned herself back in the blankets, hiding her face from the light.

"_Momo_."

"Give me another five minutes." She mumbled tiredly and felt herself drift off again.

It felt like it was barely two seconds before Kira was shaking her gently awake again. "Momo, get up. It's been ten minutes now."

"Uwahh. I don't want to. I hate these stupid pre-breakfast vice-captain meetings. I mean, why couldn't they be sometime during work instead of at an ungodly hour before we've even _eaten_?" Hinamori whined.

"Because, as Yamamoto has said before," Kira said dryly, "'it would take valuable time away from our work hours, and it is more prudent to do it before work starts.'"

"It's stupid."

"Yes, it is. Now, please get up, before I have to pour cold water over you."

She batted the blanket away from her face so she could give him a look, "You would _not_ do that."

Kira shrugged, feigning indifference. "I might."

"You suck." She pouted at him.

He grinned at her. Then suddenly his expression softened and he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Well _you_, on the other hand, are lovely. In fact," He brushed cupped her jaw in his hand, tilting her head up towards him in order to press a kiss to her lips, "I believe I love you."

Hinamori blinked at him, and her mind suddenly sputtered to a stop for a moment. They hadn't said those words yet, _those _words. They had been together for a long while now, and it was about time she supposed, but yet…

She cleared her throat, "I… me too." She smiled up at him as his face lit up.

She hadn't exactly said it back though. She…

Somehow, she couldn't.

And that made her worried.

* * *

Hinamori and Kira finally made it to the vice-captain's meeting. They arrived to see Sasakibe-fuku taicho, the vice captain of the first division who always ran the meeting looking rather ticked off. "Well, about time."

"We apologize, Sasakibe-fuku taicho. We were... delayed." Kira shot Hinamori a look, saying with his eyes, '_because of your inability to get out of bed'_. She simply raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, at least you two are here. We're still waiting on Matsumoto-fuku taicho." He looked even grumpier at the thought.

They walked past him to sit in the chairs set up. All of the other vice captains were there, in various states of tiredness.

"It's too goddamn early." Renji grumbled, stretching his arms out behind him.

"Seconded." Hisagi yawned.

"What's Sasakibe-fuku taicho's problem, anyway? He's so grumpy today." Iba groused.

"Well, wouldn't _you_ be grumpy if you had to contend with us all this early in the morning?" Nanao asked, looking pointedly at Renji and Iba.

"Whatever." Renji waved it off.

"You're looking awfully awake, Nanao-chan. What time did you get up?" Yachiro chirped.

"At five thirty this morning."

They all gaped at her in shock.

"But… how are you even functioning?" Renji blurted out.

"I had things to do. You try dealing with my captain as well as all the other numerous things I have to do. I can't afford to sleep for long." Nanao said simply.

"I hear ya." Hinamori sighed. "It's difficult having to deal with so much of the work by yourself.

"I didn't exactly see you getting up at five thirty." Kira whispered in her ear and she elbowed him in the ribs.

"But still, _five thirty_ in the freaking morning? What are you, a row-boot?" Iba asked

"A what?" Kira asked, confused.

"You know, a _row-boot_. Those machine things in the real world that aren't human."

"You mean a _robot_." Renji supplied. "And they aren't exactly real either. They're just in books and those movie thingies and stuff."

"Whatever. Robot, row-boot; potato, pa-tat-o. It doesn't matter how you pronounce it." Iba said offhandedly. "Anyway, if you keep doing that you're going to end up like Hitsugaya-taicho, doing work all the time and having no social life."

Hisagi snorted. "Not to mention being in love with-" He was interrupted by Renji, who smacked him so hard that he yelped and fell out of his chair.

"Dude, _shut up_." He hissed.

"Who's Hitsugaya-kun in love with?" Hinamori asked bewilderedly. All the vice captains were looking at her; some, like Hisagi and Renji had looks of unchecked horror on their faces while others like Nanao and Isane were looking at her with an expression of half exasperation, half pity.

Luckily, they were saved from answering by the arrival of Matsumoto. She flew into the room like a hurricane, the door banging against the wall and her strawberry blond hair flying everywhere. "Sorry, I woke up late." She panted.

"Mmmph." The first division vice captain grumped, giving Matsumoto the evil eye before turning to the rest of vice captains. "We can _finally_ start the meeting now."

Meanwhile, several of the vice captains were not listening to what was going on in the meeting. Instead, they were standing in a close group and talking quietly, several feet away from the rest of the vice captains and just out of earshot.

"I can't believe you almost told her. Do you have any idea what Hitsugaya-taicho would do to us if he found out we let it slip?" Renji whispered furiously.

"Kick our asses all across soul society?" Hisagi said weakly.

"No, he would kick our asses all the way to the real world. And it would hurt, _a lot_." Renji shuddered a little at the thought.

"Well, how was I supposed to know that it was such a big secret? You'd think she'd know; it's so freaking obvious." He said, perplexed.

"She clearly doesn't. She's going out with Kira." Isane pointed out.

"Well, I kinda figured she knew but didn't care." Hisagi shrugged.

"Not everything is like your so called "relationship" with Matsumoto." Renji said snidely and Hisagi sent him the glare of death.

"No, Hinamori would definitely care. She wouldn't be able to ignore something like that, especially with Hitsugaya-taicho. He's her best friend." Isane said softly.

"True." Renji nodded.

"Clearly, she's completely oblivious. I mean, _come on_. The entire _spirit world_ knows. The whole thing with Aizen? Yeah, not so subtle." Iba rolled his eyes.

"Well, it doesn't matter now anyway. He lost his chance." Renji watched Hinamori and Kira, who were standing closely together several feet away with their backs to them.

"It's sad." Isane murmured. "He's always so icy. I think she would really make him happy."

"No, it's _stupid_." Iba argued. "How hard is it to tell someone you like them? Jesus, he needs to man up already."

"It's harder for him. He's probably been in love with her since childhood. It's not easy to say those words when you've held them in for so long." She replied.

"Ughh, you're such a girl. With all the 'feelings' crap. If I want a girl, I make it crystal clear. _Simple_." He retorted.

Isane looked annoyed, "Well, Iba, you don't-"

Nanao suddenly appeared out of nowhere and swooped in on them, hissing, "Will all of you _shut the hell up_ before Sasakibe-fuku taicho notices you're not paying attention? It's utterly disrespectful. And stupid, especially since the people you're talking about are standing not _five feet from you_. Honestly, gossiping like four old women." Nanao chastised, before facing toward the front again.

They all looked like scolded, guilty children, Except for Iba, who muttered under his breath, "I am _not_ an old woman, you wench."

She suddenly whipped around again and said softly, "And don't you idiots even realize that the reason Hitsugaya-taicho won't tell Hinamori his feelings is that he realized he was too late, and values her heart over his? Even if he can never tell her his feelings? It certainly isn't simple, nor is it easy." She shot them one last glance before turning away.

They were all quiet after that.

* * *

"Okay, that was _lame_." Hinamori grumbled as they walked toward the mess hall.

Kira shot her a surprised glance. "What, aren't you excited?"

Sasakibe-fuku taicho had announced that there was, in fact, going to be a formal event. It was going to be in one week, and each division would take turns helping to decorate on the evenings after work and on the weekend. There was already a band lined up to play, and a catering service was going to handle the food. The theme was going to be the early 1940's era, as jazz music had always been very popular among the people of soul society.

"Yes, I am, but I don't see why they couldn't have told us this at last week's meeting. They made it all important and forced us get up ridiculously early."

"You're complaining a lot today." Kira commented.

"Well, I'm cranky. Having not enough sleep does that to me."

"I've noticed. Look, I have to run back to the third division to bring the sixth division some paperwork that needs to be taken care of. I forgot that I was supposed to do it before work started."

"But you haven't eaten yet." Hinamori protested. "And why do they need it _before_ work starts?"

Kira shrugged, "Well, you know how Kuchiki-taicho is. I'm going to eat later; you go on ahead, okay?"

"Alright," Hinamori agreed reluctantly.

"Good." He kissed her quickly and said, "I love you. I'll see you later."

"Mmhmm." Hinamori said, giving him a distracted smile before he walked away. She stood there for a moment, thinking.

She hadn't been able to say it. Again. The words seemed to almost get caught in her throat.

What did that mean?

* * *

As she was helping Matsumoto after work with decorations the thought struck her again. The fifth and the tenth divisions had been assigned together to start the decorating.

"Here, hold the end of the streamer while I tape the end above the door." Matsumoto instructed, and Hinamori did as she was told. Although she wasn't entirely concentrating.

Which was evident when she dropped it by accident. "Gah. _Hinamori_!" Matsumoto sighed. "That's like the zillionth thing you've dropped in the last hour."

"Hyperbole, much?" Hinamori quipped.

Matsumoto just gave her a look.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm a little… distracted."

"_Duh._ Be less vague."

"I…" Hinamori bit her lip. "Kira told me he loved me today. Twice."

"What? Wow. Holy crap, no wonder you're distracted. That's awesome. Why are you even here? You should be making out with him right now." Matsumoto grinned.

"That's not why I'm distracted. I couldn't say it back."

"Well, that's not unusual. Some people can't say it right away. But don't worry, you'll be able to eventually."

"That's the thing. I'm not sure if I… will ever be able to. I mean, I care for him so much. I do have feelings for him. But…" Hinamori trailed off and looked up to meet Matsumoto's eyes.

Matsumoto's face was carefully blank. "Hinamori, _do_ you love Kira?"

"I…" She swallowed thickly, her stomach tying in anxious knots. "I don't know."

And that was what frightened her. She couldn't say she did, or that she didn't.

She truly did not know.

* * *

**End of chapter eight**.

**Author's notes:** I use ellipses too much. The end.

Okay, not really the end. :P I have a few other things to comment on besides my too frequent use of ellipses and commas and other forms of punctuation.

First of all, I know I said that this chapter would be longer and would have a lot going on, and blah blah. I changed my mind, as my original map-out of this chapter would have caused the flow to be weird with the next chapter so I decided to do it differently. If that makes any sense. As well, that whole scene with the fuku-taichos was not planned at all. It sort of wrote itself. It came out of nowhere, but I decided to leave it in as I enjoy making all of soul society gossip about Hitsugaya and Hinamori. *lol* If that wasn't clear enough in previous chapters. *rolls eyes at self*

Also, you may have noticed that I've made several references to Hisagi liking Matsumoto. Well, apparently he does. In the "Bleach Official Bootleg", for those of you who haven't heard about it/haven't read it (which is essentially a bunch of side stories and all this interesting information about the Gotei 13 members. Like, for instance, Renji walks around in the sixth division in his pajamas. LOL ), it mentions how Hisagi had an article in the _Seireitei News _(soul society's newspaper), which he is editor of. Matsumoto submitted a survey which gave it a bad review, and after he read it he wouldn't come out of his office for three days. There was another omake chapter that mentioned it too, if I can remember correctly, and if you look really hard in the manga, there _are_ some hints to him liking her. So, apparently his crush on her _is_ cannon and is not fan-imagined. But as to Matsumoto liking him? Who knows. She may, or she may not, but either way on the outside she's showing that she doesn't care. And in this story I'm not going to be expanding on their relationship, as this focuses on the whole Hitsugaya/Hinamori/Kira thing. But if you are a Matsumoto/Hisagi shipper, I do have a fic written for them, as well as a few of my Hitsugaya/Hinamori fics have them as a kind of side pairing.

And as for jazz music being popular in soul society, it was mentioned in the _Turn Back the Pendulum_ chapters of the manga that jazz music was the 'new' big thing in the real world. And it's mainstream popularity was between the 1920s to the 1960s, so I went with the 1940's for their theme. There's a reason I chose that time period for the theme, you'll see why in the next chapter. ;) And even though the _Pendulum_ chapters take place a hundred years ago (which again calls in to question the current time period of Bleach… huh), I figure jazz is still pretty popular in soul society. :P

I'm going to stop babbling and pimping myself out now. *coughs*

Expect the next chapter out in two or three days, because holy crap, only two chapters left. ;_;


	9. Chapter 9

**Title:** Tempests of the Heart (9/10)**  
Author:** blue_crystal_9**  
Rating:** PG-13**  
Pairing:** Eventual Hitsugaya/Hinamori, Kira/Hinamori**  
Spoilers:** Anything up to episode 62 at this point.**  
Warnings:** Innuendo, swearing.**  
Summary:** It is years after the betrayal of Soul Society. Hinamori's finally beginning to move on with her life, and with that comes much change. Can Hitsugaya handle these changes?**  
Disclaimer:** I do not own Beach; Tite Kubo does. I am not making any profit from this; it is for entertainment purposes only.**  
Author's Notes:** As promised, this chapter is long, and rather intense around the end. Sorry, it took me a little longer than I thought to get this out because I am getting stuff ready to take to university.

**Tempests of the Heart**  
Chapter Nine

* * *

Hinamori spun around, making the shimmering skirt of her dress billow around her. She stopped and looked at Matsumoto, "So, what do you think?"

Matsumoto grinned, "It's so pretty."

She fingered the orangey-pink material and sighed, "I don't know. It _was_ a lot of money, and I think it might be a little over the top. Maybe I should just wear a kimono like usual."

"No! Wear the dress." Matsumoto protested. "It looks great, and a lot of the other girls are wearing vintage dresses to match with the theme._ You know you want to_." She said in a sing song voice. "It's beautiful and it'll knock Kira off of his feet."

"Because that was exactly my intention." Hinamori said sarcastically and then giggled at the mental picture of Kira falling over.

She inspected the dress in the mirror again. It was short-sleeved and went to just below her knees. At the waist the skirt flared out in a poofy sort of style. She took another look in the mirror and nodded, "I think I will keep it."

"Good. Don't do that thing that you always do where you buy something then decide you don't want it and then you return it."

"I don't do that all the time." Hinamori argued.

"_Yes_, you do, Hinamori. It's becoming ridiculously redundant. Not to mention irritating."

"I can't help it if I'm indecisive!"

"You're way more than indecisive. Don't buy it if you're not sure you want it. It's common sense."

Hinamori decided it was time to change the subject. "So, what's your dress like? I'm assuming you bought a dress too, for all the fuss you're kicking up about it."

"I'm not telling. It's a secret." Matsumoto said slyly.

"Oh, _come on_."

"Nope. You'll have to wait until tonight to see it."

"That is so not fair." Hinamori pouted. "At least tell me what _color_ it is."

Matsumoto paused, apparently thinking about it. Hinamori sighed in aggravation before Matsumoto said, "It's green."

"What shade of green?"

"Not telling." She stuck out her tongue.

"You are four years old. Now get out, because I need to get cleaned up and stuff."

"Okie-dokie!" Matsumoto trilled and spun away toward the door.

"Wait a moment." Hinamori said and Matsumoto stopped. "Who are you going with anyway?"

"Maybe I'm going alone." Her voice was too innocent.

Hinamori's eyes narrowed. "_Right_. When pigs fly. There's no way you don't have a date. Tell me who it is."

"That is also a secret." Matsumoto winked.

"It's Hisagi, isn't it?" She probed. "_Isn't it?_"

The strawberry blond just shrugged and floated out of Hinamori's quarters.

"Wench." Hinamori muttered under her breath.

* * *

A few hours later, Hinamori was putting the finishing touches on her hair and makeup.

She looked down at the dress again, pursing her lips. She still wasn't too sure about it. Perhaps it was because she was a little uneasy wearing it; she certainly wasn't used to dresses, for no one really wore them in soul society. The swishy-ness of the dress was weirding her out a little too. And the neckline was way lower than what she was used to…

Shaking her head, she poked another bobby pin in her hair and blinked at her reflection. She had curled her hair, which was something she never, ever did. It was mostly pinned up, with a few stray curls hanging down.

There was a knock on the door and Hinamori called out, "Come in!" She stuck another pin in her hair, and winced when she ended up stabbing herself in the head. "Ow!"

"Hello and what happened?" Kira called from the front part of her quarters.

"Nothing. An unfortunate incident between me and a stubborn hairpin." She said as she left her bathroom.

"Ah." His eyes finally focused on her and he blinked several times before uttering, "You look lovely."

"Thank you." She smiled at him, noticing his old fashioned suit. "You look nice too. I see you went with the 1940's thing as well."

"Yep. Although it was a bitch to rent this, because there isn't a ton of this type of clothes around here."

"I know. I'm glad I got my dress early because a lot of the dresses were already gone when I went to look."

"That reminds me." He pulled a small box out of his pocket, and opened it, taking out a white rose corsage. "This is for you."

"Aw, thank you." She beamed as he tied it around her wrist.

"Well, it goes with the theme, I suppose. I wasn't sure what color your dress was but the woman at the flower shop suggested I get white, and it seemed sensible enough."

"It's perfect." She kissed him lightly, and then tucked her arm in the crook of his elbow. "Let's go, shall we?"

"We shall." He gave her a crooked grin and then led her out the door.

* * *

"Here." Kira handed her a drink.

She blinked down at it. "What is it?"

"Champagne."

"Oooh, good. I can totally handle champagne." Hinamori took a sip. Kira snorted and she raised an eyebrow at him, "What?"

"Your alcohol intolerance amuses me."

"Oh shut up." She grumbled, taking another sip. She cranked her neck, looking around the room.

"Who are you looking for?" He asked.

"Rangiku-san. She was being all secretive about her dress, and I'm ridiculously curious."

"Huh. Right."

She patted his shoulder, "Don't worry, you don't have to understand the girly nonsense."

"Thank the gods." He took a sip of his drink.

"Hey." Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she spun around to see Hitsugaya.

"Oh, hi Hitsugaya-kun. How are…" She then took in the dark charcoal grey suit he was wearing and trailed off in surprise. He looked really, really good in it. _Really_ good.

She needed to stop ogling, what the hell was she doing? She inwardly smacked herself and forced herself to keep talking, "You look good."

Ugh, that was lame.

She smiled at the emerald tie he had on, "The tie was a nice touch."

Hitsugaya shrugged, "I saw it and figured hey, at least it'll match my eyes." His lip quirked up into a half smile at that.

The tie did just that actually. It made the usual bright green of his eyes show more brilliantly than usual, and…

"You look really beautiful by the way." He said quietly, glancing at her dress.

"Thank you." She murmured, and she felt her face heat up in what she was sure was a full-on blush.

Her heart was thumping ridiculously loudly against her ribs; she hoped he couldn't hear it. Why was she so flustered? He'd just paid her a compliment; Kira had done the same thing and hadn't generated this kind of reaction. Maybe she was overheated or something. Perhaps the champagne was getting to her.

Kira's voice broke through her thoughts, "I'm going to go talk with Renji over there, okay?"

Hinamori winced guiltily, realizing that she'd forgotten that Kira was there the entire time she'd been talking to Hitsugaya. "Sure, I'll meet up with you in a little while." Kira nodded and then headed toward Renji, weaving his way through the slowly thickening crowd of nicely dressed shinigami.

"So, have you seen Matsumoto yet?" Hitsugaya asked.

She shook her head, "No, and it's killing me because I really want to see her dress. She wouldn't tell me who she was going with either." Hinamori added.

"Oh, she's going with Hisagi."

"HA! I _knew_ it!" Hinamori said triumphantly and Hitsugaya gave her a surprised look at her outburst. "I asked if that was who she was going with but she wouldn't confirm it."

"Ah, avoidance. Definitely sounds like Matsumoto."

Hinamori saw a flash of familiar strawberry blond hair through the crowd and stood on her tiptoes to see if she could spot her, but unfortunetly her height prevented her from seeing over the crowd. "Stupid shortness." She muttered and heard Hitsugaya chuckle quietly behind her.

The crowd suddenly parted and Hinamori finally saw her. Matsumoto was wearing a long, flowing green dress. It was short sleeved like her own, and the top layer was a light, sheer fabric while underneath was a dark green silk. Her hair was pinned up in a twist, and silver chandelier earring shone at her ears. She looked absolutely breathtaking. Hisagi was at her arm, looking ridiculously cute and slightly boyish with his face glowing with pride.

Matsumoto walked over to them, splitting off from Hisagi so he could go talk to Renji and Kira. As soon as she got close to them, Hinamori grinned slyly at her.

"Oh don't _even_, Hinamori." Matsumoto warned.

"I haven't said anything. Right, Hitsugaya-kun?"

"That is correct." The corner of his mouth tilted up in what she was sure was a small smirk.

"Your dress is really pretty. It suits you."

"Thanks." Matsumoto eyed her suspiciously; certain she wasn't finished with the topic yet. She was right.

"So you finally threw him a bone, huh?" Hinamori finally said, her smile widening.

"Shut up. We're just here as friends." She said defensively. "Not even friends, more like acquaintances… coworkers."

"Maybe to _you_…" Hinamori trailed off.

"But to him, it's a completely different matter." Hitsugaya finished for her.

"Arghh. Be quiet. This is what I get for doing a good deed." Matsumoto grumbled.

"Riiiight. That's _exactly_ why you came with him." Hinamori rolled her eyes.

"I'm not going to talk to you two anymore. I'm just gonna go over there, and… _ignore_ you."

"That's a blissful threat." Hitsugaya said and Hinamori actually laughed out loud.

Matsumoto exhaled in a huff and stalked off.

"Aw, I think we made her mad." Hinamori said.

"She'll be over it in like two seconds." He said, unconcerned.

"Mmmh, true." They both smiled at each other.

Afterward, when Hinamori passed by Hitsugaya to meet Kira, her hand brushed against his by accident.

The spot burned for a long time after.

* * *

Hitsugaya watched as Hinamori spun around with Kira, her dress swirling around her. She was the brightest person in the room, bright like a star; smiling and laughing and spinning.

He couldn't ignore the pinpricks of jealousy he felt as he watched them dance to the jazzy, upbeat music. Kira had the one person he had always sought after, the only person he had ever loved. And watching them together like this was making it harder and harder to keep his emotions in check.

He was vaguely considering getting another drink so that he could concentrate on something else when Hinamori appeared in his line of vision. She was flushed and some of her hair had come loose from the pins, curling down her back and around her face. The thing he noticed most was her eyes; they were brown and warm and sparkling with excitement.

"So," She said as she plopped down in the chair beside him, "I think you need to get up for a while. You need to walk around, talk to people or something. Your anti-social behaviour is becoming a little depressing."

"Well, I was considering leaving anyway, so perhaps I'll just go-"

"What?" Her back straightened. "You're not serious. The party's been going on for only like, an hour."

"Two and a half hours, Hinamori." He said dryly.

"Whatever. The point is, everyone else is still here. You should stay."

"And do what, exactly? You know I'm not a party person, and I'm beginning to get a little bored just sitting here."

"Well, you could… dance."

He snorted. "Right. With _who_?"

"Ah, well –er…"

"That would be my point." Hitsugaya said.

"But you should still stick around for a while longer."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because _why_?" He sounded a little annoyed now.

"Because I want you to." She said softly.

He stared her for a moment before saying, "Okay."

'_Well, that was easy_,' Hinamori thought inwardly.

They were quiet for a few moments before Hitsugaya murmured, "So… do you want to dance with me?"

Hinamori's head snapped up to look at him, and she noticed his ears with rather red and there was a definite flush to his cheeks. She stammered out in somewhat of a shocked tone, "But, you don't dance… ever."

She could hear the eye roll in his voice. "Then why'd you even suggest it earlier?"

"Because it's something fun to do."

He sighed. "Do you want to dance with me or not?"

"I'd love to."

His green eyes fixed on her brown ones for a moment and then he stood up, allowing her to take his arm and lead her out onto the dance floor as the music changed to something slower.

It was a little convenient, Hitsugaya thought suspiciously. But he'd rather a slow dance than a fast dance; slow dancing had no flailing of any sort and required minimal effort.

There was a little fumbling awkwardness at first and a lot of stiffness because she had been right; he really didn't dance at all.

This time was an exception however.

For once he wasn't going to pass up the chance to be that close to her, however fleeting.

The stiffness melted away after a while, and it was hard to ignore how perfectly she fit against him and how warm she was in his arms.

She suddenly rested her head against his shoulder and his breath hitched.

It was hard to ignore how right it felt.

The moment was over all too soon, and once the music had stopped she stepped slowly away from him and smiled gently, "See? Fun, and not boring."

"Yes."

It was the honest truth.

* * *

Matsumoto had ended up pulling her and Nanao and several other shinigami women out on the dance floor with her just before the night began to wind down. Apparently Matsumoto had forgiven her.

But after several dances with them Hinamori was getting tired. "I'm going to take a break." She said to Nanao, who nodded. "By the way, I really like your dress." It was black, with a fairly simple design. It had buttons down the front and long sleeves, and the skirt flowed out at the waist. With someone else, it might have looked a little plain, but with Nanao it looked quite classy. She had her hair different too; instead of being pulled up tight it was loose and wavy.

"Thank you." She replied and Hinamori smiled at her before she headed away from the dance floor.

The fresh air was cool against her skin as she stepped out on the porch. She breathed it in, feeling her temperature began to cool and her heart rate slow down.

She felt his spiritual pressure behind her before he had even spoken. She smiled to herself and said, "We seem to end up on the porch a lot together, huh?"

Hitsugaya came to stand behind her, "I've noticed that too, actually."

"So, are you heading back to your division?" Hinamori asked.

"Yes. I've had just about enough partying for tonight."

"You stayed longer than I thought you would." She commented.

"Well, you asked me to stay, so I did." He ran a hand through his unruly hair.

"I just didn't want you to be all loner guy again tonight."

"Hmm. I suppose I should thank you." There was something in his voice, a fond amusement that made her flush.

"I suppose you should." Was that really her voice, all teasing and light? In reality her heart was thumping nervously in her chest.

"Thank you." Hitsugaya murmured, his voice low and like silk. He was very close to her, and she hazily wondered what the hell he was doing when he suddenly leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

This was the second time he'd kissed her; the first time had been on her forehead so many weeks ago. It shouldn't have meant much of anything, just like the last time, but Hinamori knew somehow that it did. He lingered there for a moment and with that brief physical touch he had conveyed something to her; a feeling that was warm and overpowering but yet gentle, a feeling she didn't quite recognize or understand.

She felt him pull away and distantly heard him say goodnight. She wasn't able to say it back though; she was too busy being frozen in surprise.

* * *

It wasn't until a while later, after the party had died down and Kira had walked her home that she realized that she needed to talk to Hitsugaya. She wasn't sure about what exactly or even why, but she knew that for some strange reason she _really_ needed to. Perhaps then all the confusion that had been lingering in the corners of her mind lately would be cleared up.

_He's probably already gone to bed_, a voice argued in her mind but she ignored it and headed to the tenth division anyway, hurrying through the darkness. She reached his quarters, and was about to knock when she heard voices coming from Matsumoto and Hitsugaya's office. She walked down the hall until she stood in front of the door. They seemed to be in some sort of argument and she was about to turn back until she heard her name mentioned.

"Hitsugaya-taicho, how can Hinamori not realize it?" Matsumoto's voice filtered through the wood. "I mean, the way you were looking at her tonight, and the dancing, and… and everything! She _has_ to know now."

"No, she doesn't." Hitsugaya's voice was quiet, strained and Hinamori frowned. What did she not know?

"But-"

Hitsugaya cut her off, "Leave well enough alone, Matsumoto. We've been through this a million times before. She doesn't know, it's better this way, end of discussion."

"But this was so _obvious_, more obvious than anything else you've ever done. Okay, well maybe not the whole Aizen thing, but this was close. I _saw_ the absolute emotion that you put behind that kiss, even if it was only on her cheek. If that doesn't scream that you love her, I don't know what else does."

"It doesn't matter. It's not the time for it, and she clearly doesn't know my… my feelings for her. Now go to bed."

The tenth vice captain continued to persist in her argument, "Well maybe if you actually _told_ her-"

"Matsumoto, will you just _shut up_ for once in your life!"

Hinamori didn't hear the rest of their bickering, a haze blocking her from concentrating on her surroundings.

She slid numbly to the floor, shock permeating through every nerve.

Oh God.

He loved her.

* * *

**End of chapter nine.**

**Author's notes:** Well, now there's only one more chapter to go beside the epilogue. Wow. O_o And the next chapter/epilogue will be out in a day or two definitely, because I am leaving for university in four days. *spazzes a little*

I enjoyed writing this chapter; parties are so much fun to write. Although I may have went a bit to much in detail with their dresses and stuff… but anyway. *lol*


	10. Chapter 10

**Title:** Tempests of the Heart (10/10) COMPLETE.  
**Author:**blue_crystal_9  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Pairing:** Eventual Hitsugaya/Hinamori, Kira/Hinamori  
**Spoilers:** Anything up to episode 62 at this point.  
**Warnings:** Innuendo, swearing.  
**Summary:** It is years after the betrayal of Soul Society. Hinamori's finally beginning to move on with her life, and with that comes much change. Can Hitsugaya handle these changes?  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Beach; Tite Kubo does. I am not making any profit from this; it is for entertainment purposes only.  
**Author's Notes:** Last chapter plus the epilogue as well. Thar be fluffiness and cheese ahead! Oy vey. *flails in embarrassment*

**Tempests of the Heart**  
Chapter Ten

* * *

Hinamori hadn't slept a wink all night.

After she had overheard Hitsugaya and Matsumoto's conversation, she had stumbled back to her room, reeling from shock.

Hitsugaya was in love with her, and she hadn't even known. Matsumoto was right; how had she not realized it? She was so blind. She had been blind about Aizen's true identity, and she had been oblivious to her best friend's feelings for her. She felt like a complete and utter idiot.

But now, a lot of things made sense. Even though finding out that Hitsugaya loved her had shocked her, it had also brought a sense of clarity. His furious rage over Aizen's actions, his need to protect her, his jealousy toward Kira… there had been a reason for it all.

She wondered how long he had harboured these feelings for her and then winced. Of course it had been for years and years; it pained her to think of precisely how long she had been blind to it. Deep down, she knew it had been forever.

Hinamori brushed her tousled hair away from her face and sighed deeply. She had no idea what to do now, or how she was supposed to act. She didn't think she could just pretend like she hadn't overheard them. This was too big to ignore.

She was floundering in all of this, so lost.

The sky outside was just beginning to lighten, and with another sigh she decided to sit outside for a while. Hopefully the fresh hair would help clear her head. She went out and sat crossed-legged on the porch and buried her face in her hands. Her breathing was shallow and she felt her throat burn, signalling the threat of tears. She felt too overwhelmed; she wished he had just _told_ her.

Hinamori wiped her eyes and exhaled raggedly. She needed to think about what she was going to do about this. If she did the wrong thing, it could end up ruining their friendship or hurting him. And what about Kira; what was she supposed to tell him?

Too many questions were swirling around in her mind, making her head ache. One question in particular was especially prominent, but she pushed into the back of her head to answer last, for it was the most difficult for her to answer.

_Did she return his feelings?_

* * *

Hinamori left the fifth division just before nine in the morning, glad that it was the weekend. Everyone was still recovering from the party so no one would be surfacing until about ten or later. This way she wouldn't have to deal with anyone yet.

She was heading to the mess hall for some hot chocolate because there wasn't a supply of it in the fifth division. Tea wasn't comforting enough to sooth her frazzled nerves; she needed something with _chocolate. _Hinamori ran a hand through her hair wearily before opening the door, and then stopped short in surprise.

She, of course, forgot to factor in that Hitsugaya would be awake at the crack of dawn. He was sitting by himself at a table, presumably eating breakfast when she entered.

Her flight or fight response kicked in, strongly pulling her toward flight. But even though her mind was screaming '_Run!_' she couldn't do it. He'd already seen her, and she already felt like enough of a fool already without running like the wind from him, in fear of an awkward conversation.

So she straightened her back determinedly and walked into the mess hall. Hitsugaya spoke as soon as she did so, "Good morning. I'm shocked you're still not asleep like the rest of soul society."

"'Morning," Hinamori said awkwardly, avoiding his eyes and grabbing a box of hot chocolate from the shelf.

He took one look at her and said instantly, "What's the matter?"

How was it that every time she was upset, even if she was trying to hide it, he knew?

_You know why_, her mind hissed at her and she tightened her grip on the box of hot chocolate. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just really tired, and I need to go back to sleep now." She mumbled and ignored his confused expression before bolting from the mess hall.

Okay, so maybe the 'flight' part had fully kicked in after all.

As soon as she was back into her quarters, she shut the door behind her and pressed her back against it, sliding down until she was kneeling weakly on the floor. She felt tears burn against her eyelids again and clamped a hand over her mouth, gasping raggedly and trying to stop the sobs.

Then suddenly, a voice of reason in her mind shouted, '_What the hell is the matter with you? Yes, he loves you. __Deal__ with it. Snivelling on the floor and being weak isn't going to change anything. And really, what's the big deal? Deep down, do you really object to him loving you?_'

She realized as she sat there that she didn't object. Not at all. In fact, she was beginning to realize that perhaps… perhaps she felt the same way. It would explain a lot of things, if she did love him back. The way she had been noticing him lately, her reactions to him and the feelings she couldn't understand…

She was in love him.

As soon as the thought had fully registered in her mind, it felt like sunshine had penetrated the dark, dusty corners of her mind. She had denied and repressed her feelings for him for so many years; at first it was because she had been so obsessed with Aizen and then because she hadn't be ready to face them. But now she was.

Suddenly everything seemed to shift into place.

Hinamori sat very still, and forced herself to really think about the situation she was facing. She though what had occurred, not just lately but over the past several years, her relationship with Kira and Hitsugaya, everything she had needed to analyze but had been too afraid to do so.

With Kira, their relationship was easy, almost effortless. He was easy to read, easy to understand. She cared about Kira, she truly did. He made her happy, something she desperately needed since Aizen betrayed the soul society.

Hitsugaya was complicated, complex, mysterious. Half the time she doesn't know what to think about him anymore, he's gotten so hard to read. But, strangely enough, even though he is a puzzle that can be ridiculously difficult to solve, he had always been the only thing in her life that truly made sense to her.

She has known Kira since her academy days, and he has been with her through all the trials, the hard exams, the betrayal. He is a very good friend, one of her dearest friends.

She has known Hitsugaya since the idea of being a shinigami, let alone a top ranking shinigami, was only just a dream. When they were just children, content to just sit on the porch watching the sunset and eating water melons, not a care or problem in sight. He has been her best friend for years, has put his life on the line for her, and has protected her when no one else could. He has loved her unfailingly since the beginning even though she had been oblivious.

However much she cares for Kira, her heart does not skip a beat when she looks at him.

She has not unknowingly longed for him for years. And, she knew with utmost certainty now that she _had_ done just that.

She does not love him the same way she loves Hitsugaya.

With that revelation, Hinamori knew what she had to do.

For once, she isn't going to just let fate carry her away without her consent or control. She is not blindsided this time. She is not going to let herself drown and succumb to her own doubts like she did years ago after Aizen's betrayal.

For once she is going to be strong, and be in charge of her own destiny.

* * *

Anxiety coils in her gut as she tapped on Kira's door, but she pushed the feeling aside. She is not going to question herself, for she has made her decision.

He finally answered after several minutes, a little pale with circles under his eyes, sure signs of a post-party hangover.

"Hi. Did I wake you?" Hinamori asked and couldn't stop herself from biting her bottom lip nervously.

He gave her a sleepy half smile, "No, I've been awake for an hour or more now, but I'm still a little…" He made a vague, circled gesture with his hand near his head.

"Loopy?" She supplied for him.

"Yeah, that'd be the word I'm looking for."

"Look," She took a deep breath before ploughing on, "I know I could've picked a better time for this, but it can't wait. I need to talk to you."

Kira noticed the serious expression on her face and nodded, a little confused. "Sure. Let's go sit outside." He led her into the small garden at the back of the third division and sat on a bench, indicating that she should sit beside him. "Go ahead."

"Well, I don't know how else to say this but… I can't be in a relationship with you anymore. I realized some things today… things that I should have known years ago. I'm so sorry, Kira. You have no idea how much I wish I hadn't have been so blind." His crestfallen expression pained her, so she took his hand, looking at him earnestly, "I _do_ care for you Kira, so much. But… I do not love you the way you want me to. I'm so sorry, I don't want to hurt you, but it's the truth." Inwardly she winced at her own words. They were so… mundane. They sounded clichéd, almost practised. They certainly weren't going to make him feel better or make this any easier, but she had no idea how else to tell him.

He looked up her, both pain and resignation apparent in his eyes, "You love Hitsugaya, right?"

She gaped at him for a moment before stuttering, "Y-yes. I do. I realized last night that he loved me, and after a lot of thinking about it, I realized I loved him too. Probably for years, but I had never realized it."

He smiled sadly, "I figured. Even though you were with me, there was always some… some sort of _wall_ between us. I always sort of knew it was Hitsugaya… the way you looked at each other sometimes, it was always so intense…" He trails off, shaking his head. "I always knew deep down, but I ignored it. I denied it because I wanted you for myself. But it was useless in the end anyway."

"I'm so sorry, Kira." Hinamori murmured.

"Don't be sorry. You can't help who you fall for, it just happens and you have no control over it." He gave her a crooked grin. "When you truly fall, you fall hard."

"But still… I wish I had realized it earlier. Maybe then I could have prevented you from being hurt."

"Don't worry about. I'll get over it. As long as he makes you unbearably happy, I'll be happy." Kira smiled slightly.

She smiled back at him, "He will." She paused, slightly sheepish, "Once I tell him how I feel, of course."

Kira chuckled, although it was weary. "Then what are you waiting for? You should tell him."

Hinamori's eyes filled with tears, and she suddenly hugged him fiercely. His understanding of the whole situation was immeasurable. "Thank you, Kira." She whispered and pressed brief, farewell kiss on his lips. It was bittersweet, for they both knew it was the last kiss they would ever share. She released him then, giving him a small, sad little smile before turning and walking away.

Kira sighed heavily as he watched her walk away. He was hurt, but he couldn't force himself to be angry at her, even though he wanted to.

For since the very beginning, in the back of his mind he knew she would one day slip away from him.

* * *

Hinamori slipped inside Hitsugaya's office, quietly shutting the door behind her and leaning against it.

"So, I see you finally resurfaced again after last night's activities?" He quirked an eyebrow at her in greeting.

"Oh, yeah. I'm not exactly fully recovered yet, though." She smiled slightly.

He snorted, "You're certainly not the only one. I haven't even seem Matsumoto go to breakfast -or rather _lunch_- yet or anything. She's still dead to the world."

Hinamori smiled at that, before she frowned, "Wait, it's the weekend. Why are you even here…" She stopped before rolling her eyes, "Let me guess, Matsumoto _again_."

"Yes." He let out a long, suffering sigh. "All I asked her to do yesterday was finish these few sheets of paperwork that are due in on Monday and she didn't even do _half_ of it before she got distracted and wandered off."

"So, I assume that you're going to be drowning her in paperwork the next time you see her?" Hinamori suppressed a chuckle.

"More likely I'll be bashing her over the head with it." Hitsugaya said irritably.

"Ah." She stepped away from the door, and walked up to his desk. "Uh, there was a reason I came here. I… I know."

He gave her a funny look. "You know what, exactly?"

"I know that… well, I overheard you last night. With Matsumoto, after the dance. The uh, argument you had. I heard part of it, anyway." The words tumbled out, awkward and messy and not at all the way she had wanted to say it.

He suddenly went very still, his voice strangely quiet. "How much of it did you hear?"

"Pretty much all of it."

He blinked several times, as though he were trying to gain focus or wake up from a nightmare. "So, you know… about _that_."

"Yes, um, _that_."

He froze then, before an expression of utter horror came over his face. "Oh God. Oh _God_."

"Hits-"

"Just… just give me a minute." He grated out, pushing back his chair so quickly that it scraped against the floor. He went to stand by the window, his back facing her so that she couldn't see his face.

She knew there were so many emotions flickering across it though; shock, resignation, pain.

She was about to say something but Hitsugaya spoke first, his face still turned to the window, "I understand if you don't want to see me again. If you want me to… stay away."

Hinamori stumbled over her own words in her surprise, "W-wait, what? _Why_?"

"I know you don't return my feelings, so-"

"Who ever said I didn't?" She interrupted, annoyed.

Hitsugaya whipped around to stare at her, his eyes wide and bright. "What? But you and Kira-"

"Broke up this morning." She finished. "After I finally got over my stupidity and realized some things."

He swallowed, and said hoarsely, "What things?"

"That I feel the same way."

"Really?" His voice trembled.

Hinamori smiled at him softly, before stepping even closer. She was only a few inches away from him now. "Yes."

She kissed him, curling her fingers around his wrist and pulling him closer. He practically fell into her, tangling his fingers in her hair and kissing her back with more passion then she had known him to possess. Then again, she is the only person he has even shown strong passion for. "Hinamori." He whispered against her lips, and he sounded like a drowning man who has been saved.

Perhaps, in a way, he has.

* * *

They'd talked, for a long, long time about everything. Eventually Hitsugaya asked her a question about Kira.

"Did you love him?"

She bit her lip, thinking about it. "I think I did, in a way. It hurt me when I broke up with him, and perhaps if we had stayed together I would have grown to love him more, but not in the same way I love you. Never as strongly." She smiled up at him fondly.

"You love me?" He whispered huskily. It was the first time she had truly said it.

"Yes." She reached up to kiss him.

He pulled away, and she was about to protest until he spoke, voice rough and raw with emotion that he was not used to showing, "I love you, so much. You are… _everything_ to me."

She sniffed as her eyes suddenly filled with tears at his admission. She buried her face in the crook of his shoulder and murmured, "Toshiro." He nuzzled her neck, sighing contentedly.

The door to the office suddenly flew open, and they both stiffened. Matsumoto burst in, looking rather ill. "Taicho, do you know where the pain medication is? I have a handover and the horrible headache that comes with it-" She stopped short when she finally spotted them curled up together on the office couch. Matsumoto gaped at them for a moment before her expression changed. It almost looked annoyed.

"Well, about time! _Jesus_." She exclaimed, gesturing irritably.

"Thanks for the congratulations, Matsumoto." Hitsugaya said dryly and Hinamori giggled into his shoulder.

"Hey, if you had listened to me from the start, this would have happened ages ago." She gave them a smug look.

"Matsumoto, get out."

"I have never been happier to hear those words, Hitsugaya-taicho." Matsumoto said with satisfaction before spinning around to leave. She called out over her shoulder, "You're telling me everything in _full_ detail later, Hinamori."

"Yes, after you finish the mountain of paperwork that you are going to be given for not finishing your work yesterday." Hitsugaya called to her.

They heard her curse from down the hall.

Smirking in amusement, Hitsugaya got up to close the door. He turned back to her, and brushed her hair away from her face, still in loose curls from last night.

"So, where were we again?" He murmured.

Hinamori grinned cheekily up at him. "Right about here."

She tilted her head to kiss him again, and lost herself.

But this time, for once, it was a good thing.

* * *

**End of chapter ten.**

**Author's Notes:** Don't forget to read the epilogue! I posted it tonight as well. :)


	11. Epilogue

**Title:** Tempests of the Heart, Epilogue COMPLETE  
**Author:**blue_crystal_9  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Pairing:** Eventual Hitsugaya/Hinamori, Kira/Hinamori  
**Spoilers:** Anything up to episode 62 at this point.  
**Warnings:** Innuendo, swearing.  
**Summary:** It is years after the betrayal of Soul Society. Hinamori's finally beginning to move on with her life, and with that comes much change. Can Hitsugaya handle these changes?  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Beach; Tite Kubo does. I am not making any profit from this; it is for entertainment purposes only.  
**Author's Notes:** If you clicked this, make sure you read chapter 10, because pretty much everything happens in that chapter. This is just a conclusion, a wrap up of sorts, which I felt was necessary to conclude the fic. I would have posted it later on, but since I'm off to university in two days (*gulp*), I had to post it in the same post/on the same day as chapter ten.

**Tempests of the Heart**  
Epilogue

* * *

It was strange, at first, for Hinamori to pass Kira in the hallways or see him at work and try to act like everything was completely fine. It took a long time for the awkwardness between them to pass, but eventually it did. And eventually he did find someone else, someone else to love like he had loved her, someone who loved him like he wanted to be loved. Hinamori had been happy for him; glad that he hadn't stayed and pined over her, because that was not what she had wanted. She wanted him to be happy, as happy as she was.

And she _was_ happy. Happier than she thought she could ever be, especially after what Aizen had done to her. It wasn't like she still didn't have those 'dark days' of hers; she did, but they seemed easier to bear now, with Hitsugaya there. He _had_ always been there, on the outside, but now he was with her in her heart as well. And that was what truly made the difference.

He had loved her unfailingly, without limitations or bounds, and he still did. She could feel it in every touch, every kiss, and could hear it in every word he spoke to her. She just hoped one day that she could measure up to him; that her love could be worth what his was to her.

They had been through so many things; through wars and fighting and pain. They had come out weathered and beaten, but they had survived.

They would continue to survive. Together.

* * *

'_Let me not to the marriage of true minds  
Admit impediments. Love is not love  
Which alters when it alteration finds,  
Or bends with the remover to remove:  
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark  
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;  
It is the star to every wandering bark,  
Whose Worth's unknown, although his height be taken.  
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks  
Within his bending sickle's compass come;  
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,  
But bears it out even to the edge of doom:  
If this be error and upon me proved,  
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.'_

-'_Sonnet 116'_ by William Shakespeare

* * *

**The End. **

**Author's Notes:** Wow, I can't believe it's over. ;_; This is the longest thing I've ever written, and the first multi-chapter fic I've written in three years. I think there are some parts of this I would like to rewrite at some point, as I wasn't entirely happy with some of it, but that won't happen for a while.

Also, you probably noticed I have Shakespeare's _Sonnet 116_ at the end. That was where I got the idea for the title, which is where I first heard the word _tempest. _I always thought it was an interesting word, and I'm glad I got to use it. And _Sonnet 116_ is my favourite Shakespeare piece, and I thought it was appropriate to put it at the end. ;)

I want to thank all of you for sticking with this and reading and commenting. Thank you so much for all of the encouragement, it helps so much. :3 And also, thank you to Chelsea for beta-ing and putting up with the copious amounts of ridiculously long fanfic being shoved on her at random intervals. :P

Thanks again, guys and I hope you enjoyed the fic. :D


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